Sword Art Online: A story retold
by Metal flash
Summary: Join the two friends Saki and Kaito as they try to survive in Sword Art Online. Will they fall to the death game or will they fight to escape? I own nothing except this story and my Oc s. All rights go to their respective owners. Will contain some differences from the anime. Discontinued.
1. Chapter 1: The game begins

**A/N: I don`t own anything expect this story and my Oc`s. All rights go to their respective owners.**

Today was the day that the game, Sword Art Online, would be playable to the public. The two friends, Saki and Kaito, were going to play the game alongside thousands of other players.

"Link start!" those words brought them to the world of Sword Art Online, or SAO for short. The town they first appeared in was called the Town of Beginnings. Saki had white hair and grey eyes, while Kaito had blue hair and blue eyes, just like in real life. Saki was wearing a white coat with gold trims, covering a black shirt, dark blue pants and black boots with silver plates. Kaito on the other hand, wore a dark blue shirt underneath light metal armor, dark blue pants and black shoes. Both of them also wore black fingerless gloves.

The town itself was filled with shops selling shields and various weapons, while the streets were populated with people. It looked almost just like a real life town.

"Wow, I didn`t expect there to be so many people here" Kaito exclaimed.

"Well, considering this is the first VRMMO ever made, many gamers like us would probably like to play it" Saki stated. "Let`s get out of here before we get trampled". Kaito nodded and they exited the town.

The fields outside the town looked almost as real as the town. Lush green hills as far as the eye could see, with wild boars running around.

"These boar monsters seem like they could help us get used to the game," Kaito stated. As he said that, one of the boars spotted them and charged at them. "Let me deal with this one" Kaito said.

"…Fine, just keep your guard up" Saki replied. Kaito shot him a small smile before taking his axe off his back. He jumped to the side to avoid the boar and then he hit the boar with his axe. The boar screeched in pain as it lost some of its HP. It then charged at Kaito again, only a little faster. This time it hit Kaito, causing him to lose some HP as he flew back and hit the ground. Before it could hit him again, Kaito got up and jumped over it while swinging his axe. It got hit again and its HP went into the yellow. After landing on the ground, he got into a stance. The boar once again charged at him and he swung his axe over his shoulder, causing it to become veiled in a bright light. He then, automatically, swung his axe downwards and then sideways with incredible speed, causing the boar`s HP bar to hit zero and it shattered into polygon fragments.

"Amazing, how did you do that?" Saki asked in shock, though his face only showed mild surprise.

"I…I don`t know" Kaito replied, in just as much shock as his friend.

"Not bad for your first battle" someone said. They turned in the direction of the voice and saw two male players. One had black hair and wore a blue shirt while the other had long red hair with a bandana wrapped around his head.

"Who are you guys?" Saki asked.

"I`m Kirito, a beta-tester and this is my friend Klein" the black haired player replied, introducing the two of them.

"And who might you be?" Klein asked.

"I`m Kaito and this is my friend Saki" Kaito replied, Saki giving a slight nod. "Do either of you know what I just did?" he asked.

"That was a sword skill" Kirito replied.

"A sword skill?" Saki and Kaito asked in confusion. However, Saki only raised an eyebrow while Kaito actually looked confused.

"Yeah, just watch" Kirito said. He then pulled out his sword, moved his body`s position and put the sword over his shoulder, pointing the blade behind him. The sword then began to glow an azure blue color. He swung the sword in front of him and moved his body along, which was followed by an incredible force.

"Whoa" the two friends said in awe.

"Now you try Saki" Kirito said. Saki pulled out his sword, got into position and did the same stance the black haired beta-tester had done. Just like with Kirito, Saki`s sword gained an azure blue glow. He did the same thing Kirito did and the same incredible force followed.

"It`s incredible" Saki said.

"I know right, it`s awesome" Klein exclaimed. The four of them then began to practice against wild boars and wolves.

After a while, Kirito and Klein went back to town, waving goodbye to the two friends. It was afternoon.

"Well, I think that`s enough playing for today" Kaito said as he opened up his menu. Strangely enough however, the log out button was not present. "That`s weird, I can`t log out" he stated. Saki opened up his menu and found that Kaito was right.

"What`s going on?" Saki asked. Suddenly, they could hear the echoing sound of bells tolling. The two of them were then enveloped in a blue light and teleported them to the Town of Beginnings. Other players were also being teleported there by the second. Saki then looked up at the sky and saw a notice floating in the air.

 **System announcement**

He then noticed a cloaked figure floating in the air. The sky had also become filled with messages.

"Players, I welcome you to my world," the cloaked figure said. "My name is Akhiko Kayaba, head programmer and developer of Sword Art Online. As many of you surely have noticed, you can`t log out. This is how the game was originally designed". At this note, many players began to panic.

"In addition, should anyone try to shut down your Nerve Gear, the device will send an electric signal that will fry your brain, killing you. As of this moment, 213 people have attempted to remove the Nerve Gear and have died. There is no longer anyway to revive someone. I advise you to remember this next piece of info well. If your HP hits zero you die in the game and in real life" Kayaba continued. At this moment, Kaito became frozen in fear while Saki clenched his fist in anger.

" _So that means… if my health is gone I die?_ " Kaito thought.

" _What kind of sick, twisted game has this become?_ " Saki thought angrily. Unlike normally, you could see the anger in his face.

"The only way to escape Sword Art Online is to clear the game. You are all currently on floor one of Aincrad. Defeat the boss of this floor and you will be able to move on to floor two. Defeat the boss of floor 100 and you have beaten the game. Only then will you be able to escape. In addition, I have prepared a little present in your inventories. Please take a look". Kaito and Saki did just that and found a mirror in place of their items. They materialized the item and were enveloped in a bright light. After the light died down, they saw that their avatar bodies were replaced with their real ones.

"You may be wondering, why? Why would Akhiko Kayaba, developer of the game, do all this? Simply put, I want full control in a world of my own design. As of this moment, the tutorial is over. Players, best of luck to all of you" Kayaba finished, letting this new reality sink in for the players. He then disappeared into mist.

"Things just got a whole lot more serious" Kaito said.

"Indeed, we need to get stronger, and fast" Saki said. The two friends nodded to each other, knowing what the other was thinking, they then exited the Town of Beginnings.

 **The death game had begun.**

 **A/N: And that was the first chapter of this story. There is something I need to note though.**

 **My knowledge on this series is limited, so I might mess up a few facts here and there.**

 **Anyways, hope you enjoyed and stay tuned for more.**


	2. Chapter 2: New allies

**A/N: I own nothing except my Oc`s. All rights go to their respective owners.**

A few weeks had passed since the death game has started. Saki and Kaito were now heading northwest from the Town of Beginnings. They had heard of a town there where you could obtain a sword called the "Anneal Blade". They had not heard much more about the sword though.

"I wonder if there is a quest somewhere for a better axe," Kaito said.

"From what I can tell, not many players use axes. So there might be one or there might not be," Saki stated.

"Yeah, that`s true. It`s kind of a shame to be honest" Kaito admitted.

"HELP!" they heard someone yell.

"Come on, let`s go" Kaito said and the two of them ran off to find the ones calling for help. Eventually they saw what seemed to be two lower level players and a player near their level being picked on by some other players. They all wore blue and red clothing and armor. The one who seemed to be the leader had brown hair and green eyes and wielded a sword.

"No one`s going to help you now" one of the guys said. "Well Seji, now`s your chance". The one called Seji stepped forward and grabbed the female player by the hand.

"Come with me" he said.

"Like hell I would come along with any of you" she yelled. She wore red leather armor and had short red hair, along with red eyes.

"Alright then, guys show her little friends how we deal with people who resist" Seji told his comrades. They snickered and pulled out their weapons.

"Run now you two, while you still can!" the girl yelled. The two of them just shook their heads.

"We can`t just leave you here" the boy said.

"Suit yourself then" one of Seji`s comrades said. He then raised his sword, ready to swing it down at them. He then swung it downwards, but luckily, Saki was able to block it with his own. The other comrade had tried to do the same with an axe, but Kaito swiped it away with his own axe.

"What the hell?" he asked. In response, Kaito kicked him in the stomach and Saki tripped the other one.

"Damn, got no choice but to retreat" Seji said. He put the girl`s hands behind her back and tied them together with a rope. He then did the same with her legs, causing her to lose her balance and fall to the ground. After that, he swung her body over his shoulder and bolted towards the woods behind him.

"Hey, let me go!" she yelled.

"We have to help her" Kaito exclaimed. Saki nodded, opened his inventory and pulled some teleport crystals. He tossed them to the girls friends.

"Use them to get back to the Town of Beginnings. Once we have helped your friend, we come find you," he said.

"Okay, thank you," the male player said. Saki and Kaito nodded and ran after Seji.

* * *

Deep in the woods, Seji had stopped. He had put the girl down and had begun typing a message to someone.

"Release me right now, or else!" the girl yelled.

"Sorry, but you`re not in any position to give me orders," Seji chuckled. The girl growled at him while he only smirked at her. Saki and Kaito had finally caught up with them and stopped.

"Release her!" Kaito shouted.

"Not happening" Seji said. He then snapped his fingers and many players entered from the sides.

"So, you can`t fight them by yourself so you called for backup. You`re one big coward" the girl said. Saki and Kaito got out their weapons and took a stance.

"Eight against two huh? That doesn`t seem very fair," a voice said. Afterwards, a figure jumped out of the woods behind Saki and Kaito. As they landed, it appeared to be a young male with short blond hair. He wore yellow leather armor with a yellow cape, yellow boots with silver plates and a yellow butterfly shaped mask. "Allow me to lend a helping hand," he added and pulled out a rapier.

"Get em!" Seji yelled, causing his comrades to charge at the three players. However, they all stopped once they felt the ground beginning to shake.

"What`s going on?" one asked. Saki then got an idea of it could be.

"Kaito!" he yelled, catching his friend`s attention. He then tilted his head towards the tied up girl. Kaito nodded, went over to her, picked her up and swung her over his shoulder.

"Hey, you there!" Kaito yelled at the masked swordsman, catching his attention. "Jump!" as Kaito yelled that, he and Saki jumped up to a tree branch. The blonde swordsman did the same and landed on a tree branch. After a while, a hoard of wild boars came rushing through the area they were.

"Whoa!" the remaining players all yelled, including Seji. They all began running, but most of them were run over. After the hoard had passed them, the three players jumped down from the trees.

"How could you tell that a hoard of boars was coming?" Kaito asked Saki.

"It was either that or a boss and I don`t think there is one on this floor aside from the floor boss" Saki replied.

"Either way, you saved us from possibly getting run over. Thank you" the blonde swordsman said, giving Saki a bow.

"Don`t mention it" Saki said. Kaito put the girl back on the ground and undid the ropes binding her arms and legs together.

"Thanks" she said.

"No problem" Kaito said. "Well then, mind telling us your names?" he asked.

"I need to find those two kids first" the girl replied.

"They`re back in the Town of Beginnings. They asked me to come and help you," the blonde man said.

"Oh, that`s good. Anyway, why don`t you start?" the girl asked. The blonde man nodded.

"My name is Samson, but you can call me Sam for short," he said, introducing himself.

"My name is Anna, what are yours?" Anna asked.

"I`m Kaito and this is my friend Saki" Kaito replied. "Well then, let`s go back to the Town of Beginnings" he said. The others nodded and they walked off.

* * *

Once there, they were greeted by the two kids from before.

"Anna!" they shouted as they ran towards her.

"Ken, Marie" Anna said as they embraced her. "Glad you two are okay" she said as she patted their heads.

"So am I", a young woman said. "Are these people friends of yours?" she asked.

"These are the guys who saved me" Anna replied.

"Well then, thank you for all help" the woman said as she smiled at the three boys. "Why don`t I treat you all to a little reward?" she asked.

"Please, that won`t be necessary" Sam said.

"There is no need to be so humble" the woman assured him.

"Well in that case, I could use a new sword since I lost my old one," Anna said. The woman then guided her to a weapon store while the other players stood there, waiting for them and Marie and Ken followed them.

"So Sam, what`s with the mask?" Kaito asked.

"That is none of your concern" Sam replied. Anna eventually returned while the woman and the two kids nowhere to be seen.

"Where are you guys headed?" she asked.

"Nowhere in particular" Sam replied. "What about you two?" he asked.

"We`re headed to Harunka village," Saki replied.

"Hey, I got an idea" Kaito exclaimed. "Why don`t you two join us?" he asked. Sam and Anna cast a glance at each other.

"I have no objections," Sam stated.

"Sure, works for me" Anna said.

"Great" Kaito said. He then sent invitations for them to join their party. They both accepted, "Well then, let`s go" he said. Sam and Anna nodded and began walking towards the towns exit. Before Kaito could follow them, Saki stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked.

"I know what you mean, but it`s better to fight with others than against them" Kaito replied.

"…Alright, just don`t get too close to them. You never know what might happen" Saki stated. Kaito nodded and they went to follow their new allies.

* * *

They had reached Harunka after walking for a few hours. The town had ten buildings, including an inn and a weapon shop. The one building Saki took interest in was a two-story building.

"If what I`ve been hearing is correct, this is the place" he said.

"So what are we supposed to do?" Anna asked.

"I suppose we could check out that weapon shop over there" Sam replied, pointing at the building. "I know I will at least" he added.

"Well, I guess I`ll just wait here" Kaito said.

"Then I guess I`ll do the same" Anna said. Saki then went into the building while Sam went to the shop. "Hey Kaito, can I ask you something?" Anna asked.

"Okay, shoot" Kaito replied.

"How can you be so relaxed around Saki? He doesn`t seem to react to anything" Anna said. "It`s like he could just stab us in the back at a moment`s notice".

"Oh, that. That`s just how he is" Kaito replied. "He won`t do anything to hurt his friends on purpose".

"I sure hope that you`re right about that" Anna said quietly.

* * *

Meanwhile, Saki had accepted a cup of water from the village missus that lived in the house he had entered. He could hear the steady sound of a child coughing from the other side of the door to the next room.

"What`s that about?" he asked.

"That is my daughter" the missus replied. "She has been stricken with a severe illness, not even the medicine from the market did anything to it. The only way to cure it is to have her drink medicine procured from the ovules of predatory plants inhabiting the forest further to the west" she added.

"Let me help" Saki said.

"Really, thank you" the missus said, "be warned though, those plants are really dangerous and those that actually bloom are rarely seen. Be careful". In front of Saki appeared a window asking him whether or not he would accept the quest. He accepted it and went to the woods to the east. There he saw a plant monster, above it was its name, Little Neppent.

"This might take a while" Saki muttered as he pulled out his sword and charged the plant monster.

* * *

 **Two hours later:**

Anna was impatiently tapped her foot and looked at her watch for what seemed like the hundredth time in two minutes.

"What`s taking him so long?" she asked. By this point, Kaito had gone off to the weapon store that Sam had gone to, while Sam had given her and Kaito some health potions he had bought. Not long after she said that, the door opened and Saki came out of it.

"What took you so long?" Sam asked.

"Getting what I needed for the quest was a pain," Saki bluntly replied, though his expression didn`t change.

"Anyway, now that Saki is FINALLY done with that quest, let`s head over to that inn. I need to get some rest" Anna said.

"I could go for a nap to" Sam said.

"Where`s Kaito?" Saki asked.

"He went to the weapon shop" Sam replied. Not long after the masked swordsman said that, Kaito exited the weapon shop.

"Hey guys, oh Saki`s back. Well, let`s head over to the inn" he said, walking ahead. The others soon followed. They asked to rest in four rooms and the inn owner gave them four keys. They took them and went to their separate rooms. Before Saki entered his room, Sam stopped him by putting an arm on his shoulder.

"Can I ask you something?" he asked.

"Go ahead" Saki said.

"How could you trust Anna and I so easily?" Sam asked bluntly.

"You helped us even though you had no reason to, and Anna, she doesn`t seem like a bad person" Saki replied.

"Right then, good night and take care" Sam said, nodding.

"You to" Saki said. Sam then went in his room with Saki doing the same. He then changed into a pajama outfit and flopped onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. " _Two new allies means more people to worry about._ _Well, as long as I don`t become too good friends with them it should be fine_ " he thought before falling asleep.


	3. Chapter 3: The first duel

**A/N: I own nothing except this story and my Ocs. All rights go to their respective owners.**

After two months of playing Sao, the players had reached the second floor. They had lost a few players during the first floor boss fight, but they kept moving regardless. Currently, Saki and his friends were checking out a town on the second floor.

"Wow, this feels so real" Anna exclaimed.

"Agreed, it`s almost like were in the real world, not in a game" Sam said.

"Don`t get to cozy" Saki said. This caused the two to look at him.

"What`s your problem?" Anna asked, slightly annoyed. "I know that we`re trapped, but we can still have fun" she added.

"Still, he has a point" Kaito stated. "There`s also the possibility of fighting that Seji guy again, and other players". Saki and Sam nodded, while Anna went quiet.

" _Oh…I forgot about that,_ " she thought.

"Are you alright?" Saki asked, though his face showed little to no concern.

"Yeah, I`m fine" Anna replied, putting on a fake smile. Kaito tilted his head, but shrugged it off.

"Well then, let`s get going" he said, as he began walking.

"Hold on" Saki said, causing Kaito to stop. "Anna, mind helping me with something?" he asked.

"Uh, sure" Anna replied.

"Right, then follow me" Saki said and walked towards the town`s exit. Anna quietly followed him, while Sam and Kaito walked in the other direction. After walking for a few minutes, Saki stopped in an open field.

"Okay so, why did you bring me here?" Anna asked. In response, a window appeared in front of her. It was a request for a duel. "What is the meaning of this?" she asked confused.

"This is to help you" Saki responded. Anna then understood what he was saying.

"I already said I`m fine" she said. Saki only shook his head.

"Like I believe that," he said. Anna then looked down on the ground and shook her head.

"I can`t fight you, I can`t risk killing a friend" she said. Saki walked over to her, grabbed her hand and accepted the request for her. Afterwards, another window appeared. It explained the three types of duels. The first type, total loss, was essentially a duel to the death. The second, half loss, was decided when one player had lost half of their HP. The final, first strike, was decided one someone landed one hit.

"Come on, decide" Saki told her. Anna slowly nodded and picked half loss mode. Not long after, a countdown appeared starting at 60 seconds. Saki then walked back to where he stood.

" _No one has ever forced me to do anything I didn`t want to_ " Anna thought. She then let a small smile form on her face, " _Oh well, there`s a first time for everything_ ". Saki pulled out his Anneal blade as the countdown reached 44 seconds. Fourteen seconds later, Anna pulled out her sword. Twenty, they both got into a fighting stance.

" _If I wanna win this, I can`t hold back_ " Anna thought. Fifteen, they were both staring each other down. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. Once the countdown ended, Saki dashed straight at her. Anna parried his strike with one of her own. She then tried to slash at him, but he jumped over her, dodging her strike. He then slashed her twice in the back, lowering her HP a bit. He went for a third strike, but she rolled out of the way. They then dashed at each other, swinging their swords at each other. Saki however missed, while Anna hit his cheek, causing him to lose some HP. They both turned around to face each other.

" _She`s trying a lot harder than I expected_ " Saki thought. Anna looked at her HP, seeing that it was pretty close to the yellow. Saki took this chance to dash at her and slashed at her. Her HP went to half, ending the duel. A window appeared between the two, showing that Saki had won.

"Oh come on, I looked away once and I lost" Anna complained.

"That`s how it goes, take your eyes of the battle for one moment and you risk losing, or worse" Saki replied, sheathing his Anneal Blade. Anna then put away her sword.

"You could have just told me to accept you know," she added.

"I doubt you would have done so unless I forced you," Saki stated. They then began to walk back towards the town.

Meanwhile, in the town, Sam was waiting outside a blacksmith. Kaito had decided to check it out, having never seen a blacksmith in his entire life.

"What`s taking those two so long?" Sam muttered. He then began to think about just why they were taking so long. " _Could they…no they would not do that…would they_?" he thought, having doubts.

"Hello!" he heard a female voice yell. He turned towards it, only to see two female players walking towards him.

"My my, aren`t you a cutie?" one of them asked in a flirty manner.

"Uh, can I help you?" Sam nervously asked.

"Maybe" the girl replied, giving him a playful wink. Sam nervously sweat dropped at this.

"Uh, I think I`d rather not know" he said.

"What`s this, you cheating on me? That`s not fair" a male said. The two girls and Sam looked over to see a male player with brown hair and green eyes.

"Calm down Yuto" the girl, or girlfriend to be more precise, said. Yuto, the boyfriend, only pouted.

"Yo Sam" Anna said, coming from the distance. Sam acknowledged Saki with a nod, a gesture he returned.

"Oh, what do we have here?" Yuto asked, studying Anna`s body from top to bottom.

"Hey jackass, my eyes are up here" she said annoyed, covering her chest with a light blush on her cheeks.

"I know, just admiring your curves is all" Yuto replied. In response, Anna kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying into a building. "…Worth it" he said, groaning in pain. His girlfriend ran over to check on him. Anna then looked over at the other girl, who was staring at her.

"What?" Anna asked.

"I don`t think red suits you" the girl replied.

"WHAT!" Anna snapped. She then began walking towards the girl, but felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Let us not be bothered by them anymore" Sam said, a tone of annoyance in his voice. Anna only huffed and after Kaito showed up, the four friends walked away.

 **The next day:**

Anna walked out of the inn they had stayed in, having woken up a few minutes ago. She saw that not many people were up yet, understandable, as it was still early.

"Hey Anna" she heard someone say. She turned around to see a girl with brownish chestnut hair and hazel eyes. She wore a dark red leather tunic with a lightweight copper breastplate and leather pants with boots up to the knees along with a hooded cape. Her name was Asuna, she had met Anna and her friends during the 1st floor boss fight.

"Oh, hi Asuna" Anna said.

"You wanna take a walk with me? I don`t want to wake up your friends" Asuna asked.

"Sure" Anna replied. The two girls then began walking. They chatted about various things, from how they were doing to what weapons were their favorite. They saw Sam sitting at a café and decided to sit down with him.

"Well met Asuna, Anna" Sam said, nodding to the two girls. They nodded back.

"I can`t believe that it`s been two months since this death game started" Anna exclaimed.

"It does feel like less time has passed, and yet we have only passed one floor out of 100" Sam added. "I only wish that there was a way to keep other players from suffering".

"Yeah, I don`t understand how anyone could find the idea of a death game funny" Anna said.

"Well either way, it`s our job to get through this game" Asuna said.

"Right," Anna agreed, "figuring out how to defeat bosses easily is a start".

"Trying to help out other players isn`t a bad idea either" Sam added. The three of them continued talking, unaware that someone was watching them.


	4. Chapter 4: Lisbeth the Blacksmith

**A/N: I own nothing except my Ocs. All rights go to their respective owners.**

Kaito and his friends had reached the fifteenth floor. During floor five, Saki had begun using katanas instead of swords. The reason he gave was that, "They suit my fighting style better". The others had no problem with this though. They were all inn a field, doing some training. Saki and Sam were fighting some moblins in one area, while Anna and Kaito were fighting more powerful boars. Kaito had just finished one of with a swing of his axe.

"This is getting a lot easier" he remarked.

"It definitely feels that way" Anna agreed, killing of another boar. She then whipped her forehead, "I don`t know about you, but I`m getting tired," she said.

"Yeah, we should probably rest up soon" Kaito said. He then sent a message to Saki and Sam that they would be going back to their house. Not long after they had gotten to this floor, they had decided to buy a house to stay inn. It was a simple two story building with four bedrooms. After a few minutes, they reached the house. Once they entered, Anna plopped down on the couch.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Kaito asked.

"Go ahead" Anna said.

"Why were you with those two kids back on the second floor?" Kaito asked.

"Someone asked me to take them to that lady" Anna simply replied. "That reminds me, we haven`t seen that Seiji guy or any of his goons for a while" she remarked.

"Yeah" Kaito agreed. His thoughts were interrupted by Sam entering the house.

"Hey" he said.

"Where`s Saki?" Anna asked.

"He went off on his own" Sam replied. "He said something about checking out a blacksmith," he added.

"Huh?" Anna yelped, causing the masked player to look at her. "Oh uh, nothing! Never mind!" she exclaimed while looking down. Saki and Sam shared a glance before shrugging of their friend`s weird behavior.

* * *

Elsewhere, Saki had reached a house. It appeared to be a blacksmith shop, though weather it was ran by a player or an NPC Saki couldn`t tell. He decided to enter, seeing plenty of swords on display. He could tell

"Hello, welcome to Lisbeth`s blacksmith shop" a female voice said. Kaito turned towards the voice and saw a girl with pink hair with a white hairpin and dark pink eyes. She wore a uniform that resembled a waitress more than a blacksmith. It was a dark red top with puffed sleeves and a red flared skirt with a white apron. She was most likely Lisbeth. Saki took one sword and swung it around. "May I help you?" Lisbeth asked.

"It seems decent" he mused.

"What do you mean "decent"? Are you mocking my skills as a blacksmith?" Lisbeth asked.

"It is light, meaning it is easy to use. However, this also means it`s not ideal for defending" Saki replied.

"Since when could you tell all that by just swinging it around?" Lisbeth asked in disbelief.

"Once you fight with a sword for a while, you can tell things like this" Saki replied. "Even so, the amount of swords you have made is impressive".

"Uh…thanks?" Lisbeth said confused. " _What an oddball_ " she thought.

"Do you take custom orders?" Saki asked. Lisbeth nodded in response. "Can you make me a shield?"

"I`ll see what I can do" Lisbeth replied. She walked into the back of her shop. Not long after, the sound of a hammer hitting metal was heard multiple times. After a few minutes, Lisbeth came back with a black round shield in her hands. "Here you go" she said, handing him the shield.

"Thanks" Saki said, taking the shield.

"Anything else?" Lisbeth asked.

"That would be all" Saki replied.

"That will be 200 coll" Lisbeth said. Saki traded 200 coll over to the pink haired blacksmith. "Thank you" she said. After Saki went out of the shop, he saw an auburn haired, cloaked girl by the name of Argo.

"Looks like you weren't lying" Saki told her.

"Of course, you think I`d lead you astray like that? Actually, don`t answer that" Argo said. "Also, I have the book you wanted" she added. She then opened her inventory and traded the book to Saki.

"Thank you" he said as he handed her the coll she wanted.

"No problem, just don`t get yourself killed" Argo said. And with that, she left into the alleyways of the town.

* * *

 **The next day:**

As Kaito walked outside, he noticed that he was the only one awake. He then found a loaf of bread to eat. He took a bite of it, as his thoughts went wild. " _I wonder just how long it will take to clear this game… Funny, I`m wondering about that, yet thanks to this game I`ve made at least three new friends_ ". The axe wielder sat down on the couch, waiting for someone else to wake up. Not long after, Anna came down the stairs.

"Good morning" she yawned.

"Good morning" Kaito said. He took a piece of his loaf and handed it over to her. She muttered a "thanks" and took a bite of it. "You up for some training today?" Kaito asked.

"I`ll pass thanks" Anna replied.

"Why am I not surprised?" Kaito quietly asked himself.

"What was that?" Anna asked angrily.

"N-Nothing, nothing at all" Kaito hastily replied.

"I thought so" Anna said. Kaito mentally sighed.

" _I dodged a bullet there,_ " he thought. It didn`t take any of them long to find out how terrifying Anna was when she angry. Not long after, Sam came down the stairs.

"Morning" he mumbled, obviously still tired.

"Well, I don`t about you guys, but I could go for some shopping" Anna exclaimed.

"Maybe you should take Sam with you" Kaito suggested.

"Good idea" Anna said. She then grabbed the arm of the masked swordsman and dragged him out of the house.

" _May God have mercy on him_ " Kaito thought.

* * *

In the town, Sam had finally woken up fully. He looked around and saw that he was in the town of the tenth floor. He then looked to his side and almost instantly blushed.

"U-Um Anna?" he nervously spoke up. She turned towards him.

"Hm, oh you`re awake" the red haired girl said nonchalantly. She then noticed her hands were still linked around his arm. "Oh God, I-I`m so sorry" she exclaimed and let go while blushing furiously. An awkward silence loomed over the two friends.

"… I`ll just go to that store over there" Anna spoke up and she did just that. " _Why did I do that? I`m such an idiot_ " she mentally scolded herself. Not long after, she came out of the store.

"Nothing there of interest?" Sam asked.

"Not a single thing" Anna replied. "You need anything here?" she asked. Sam shook his head and they began walking. "By the way, why do you wear that mask everywhere you go?" Anna asked.

"It`s none of your concern" Sam simply replied.

" _I should have known_ " Anna thought.

"By the way, why were you so reluctant to fight Saki?" Sam asked.

"Let`s just say that I`ve done some dumb things in the past and leave it at that" Anna replied. Sam didn`t argue and they continued walking, not looking directly at each other.


	5. Chapter 5: Enter the Dragon Tamer

**A/N: I own nothing except my Ocs. All rights go to their respective owners.**

Among the thousands of people trapped in SAO, one was slightly different. He had green hair, blue eyes and wore a dark green shirt underneath light metal armor, brown pants and brown shoes. He had a one handed sword in a sheath around his waist and a small shield on his left arm. His name was Luke and he was a solo player. He was currently walking through a town on floor 13.

" _It seems that the front lines have reached at least floor 20 from what I have heard,_ " he thought. In no time at all, he bumped into someone and fell to the ground. As he looked up, he saw a male player with brown hair and green eyes wearing red and blue clothing underneath metal armor. It was Seiji. "I`m sorry" Luke apologized.

"That`s not gonna cut it!" Seiji exclaimed. He then grabbed Luke by his collar and lifted him off the ground. "Listen up, if you want to walk away in one piece you`d better cough up all your equipment right now" Seiji said.

"But I spent a lot of time getting it" Luke retorted.

"You think I care?" Seiji asked sarcastically.

"Calm down Seiji" someone else, said. Seiji turned around and saw a few guys, all wearing similar armor to him. "He`s too low level for his equipment to be useful" one of them told him.

"You`ve got a point" Seiji mused. He then felt a sharp pain in his face, being knocked of his feet. Luke was dropped back onto the ground. He then looked up at his savior, only to find it was Kirito, complete with a black coat. "What the hell was th-wait, my HP didn`t go down" Seiji noted.

"That`s because this is a safe zone, our HP won`t drop here" Kirito explained.

"Whatever, what a waste of time. Let`s go!" Seiji exclaimed and walked away with his "comrades".

"Th-Thank you" Luke stuttered.

"No problem" Kirito assured him. "By the way, have you checked the woods outside of this town?" he asked.

"You mean the woods where tamable monsters can be found? No I haven`t" Luke replied.

"You might want to check it out, just in case," Kirito suggested.

"Why don`t you come with me?" Luke asked.

"I`ll pass thanks, I play solo" the black haired swordsman replied. "Oh by the way, name`s Kirito" he added as he stretched out a helping hand.

"My name is Luke" Luke responded as he took Kirito`s hand. He pulled Luke of the ground

"Anyway, maybe I`ll see you around" Kirito said as he walked away.

"Yeah, maybe" Luke inaudibly mumbled.

* * *

Luke had decided to follow Kirito`s advice and check out the woods outside of town. He had heard rumors about monsters that could be tamed being in those woods. Not much was known about them, but going by what was known, they would approach a player on rare occasions.

"Maybe I can tame one" Luke hoped. He had walked for a few minutes, but had not found anything like that. He had encountered some monsters, but they only attacked him.

Not long after a bear had attacked him, he came across a small blue creature. It was a small winged-dragon. It`s body was covered by soft, pale blue feathers and was called « **Feathered Little Dragon** ». Its body ended with two long feathers instead of a tail and it had red eyes.

" _Wow, it`s kind of cute_ " the green haired boy thought. The small dragon proceeded to fly over to him. Luke opened his inventory, tapped the peanut icon and gave some to the dragon. After it ate one, the small dragon did a happy twirl and made a happy cry. It then flew circles around Luke and a green icon appeared above it. A text box appeared in front of Luke saying, « **Monster successfully tamed»**.

"I did it!" Luke exclaimed happily as the dragon sat on his shoulder. "Let`s see, I`ll call you Luna after my mom" he said after some thought. "Luna" made a happy cry, seemingly happy with the name it was given.

Before Luke could say anything else, he heard the sound of a young girl calling for help. He then bolted in the direction of the yell, with Luna following closely behind. After a few minutes, he saw a young girl with brown hair and brown eyes. She wore a pink shirt underneath light metal armor, brown pants and pink shoes. All she had was a spear to protect herself. She was cornered by three players. One wore a blue shirt, while another wore an orange one and the last one had a black shirt. All of them wore metal armor, brown pants and black shoes.

"Yo Tenma, look over there" one of them pointed at Luke. The one called Tenma had light blue hair and blue eyes.

"Would you look at that, he`s got a tamed beast" Tenma mused. Luke stepped back on instinct, but regained his composure.

"Luna, help out that girl" he commanded the little dragon. It flew over to her and shot a blue energy sphere at her. She glowed blue and recovered some HP.

"Huh?" the girl said confused.

"Nice job Luna, now attack or something" Luke said. Luna shot bubbles at the three players.

"What the hell?" Tenma asked in confusion. Luke then ran over to the girl, grabbed her hand and ran in the direction he came with Luna sitting on top of his head. By the time Tenma and the other`s confusion wore of, the two players were gone.

* * *

Luke stopped after he got a good distance away from the forest and let go of the girl`s hand. "Looks like we lost them" he mused. He then looked at the girl, "You okay?" he asked.

"Y-Yes, thanks to you" the girl said nervously.

"Come on, it`s nothing" Luke insisted as he rubbed the back of his head. "Anyway, what`s your name?" he asked.

"My name is Nagi," she replied, introducing herself.

"My name is Luke," Luke said.

"Well Luke, please let me get you something to drink as thanks for saving me" Nagi said. Luke rubbed his head in thought.

"Okay then, lead the way," he said. Nagi nodded and walked in the direction of the town. After a few minutes, the found a restaurant to sit at. They both ordered a glass of water, the NPC waitress bowed and walked back in.

"So what exactly is that thing?" Nagi asked, pointing at Luna sitting on top Luke`s head.

"Oh, this is Luna, my tamed dragon" Luke replied as he handed it a peanut, which it happily ate.

"You tamed a dragon? That`s awesome!" Nagi exclaimed.

"It`s not as hard as you may think" Luke pointed out. "So why were in those woods anyway?" he asked.

"I`m looking for someone…my big brother" Nagi replied. Luke`s expression then saddened.

"I`m sorry to hear" he said sympathetically.

"It`s fine, but…" she paused, not sure how to say what she wanted. "I might need some help so…" she twiddled her thumbs.

"I`d love to help you" Luke responded, understanding what she wanted to say.

"Really?" Nagi asked hopefully. Luke gave her a nod in confirmation. "Thank you so much!" she happily exclaimed as she clapped her hands together. Her expression then darkened, "Are you really sure? It could get dangerous," she asked again.

"I`m positive, besides it`s better this way" Luke replied. The waitress then put the cups on their table and left.

"Thank you, it means a lot to me" Nagi said. She then took a sip of her glass. She then noticed a party request in a pop-up window in front of her. She accepted it and looked over at Luke.

"Now then, we should find a place to rest" Luke pointed out.

"We need to finish our drinks first though" Nagi giggled.

"I know" Luke said sheepishly. " _Today has been a great day. Not only did I tame a dragon, but I also made a new friend,_ " he thought happily. Once he and Nagi were finished with their water, they found an inn and decided to stay there for the night. As Nagi was lying on the bed, she looked out the window.

" _Just you wait bro, I`ll find you someday_ " she thought with determination.

 **A/N: And there you have two new Ocs, Luke the dragon tamer and Nagi the spear user. Can you guess who her big brother is?**


	6. Chapter 6: The Black Fang

**A/N: I own nothing except my Ocs. All rights go to their respective owners.**

A meeting was being held in the square of floor 26. During the boss fight of floor 25, they had lost many players, including members of the Aincrad Liberation Force. The loss of players had been devastating, at the moment no one knew who would be leading the front lines. During the fight, a new player by the name of Heathcliff had appeared. He had grey hair, grey eyes and wore red body armor with a white cape, covering a dark grey shirt. He wielded a large white shield with a red colored cross symbol on it, housing a white sword with a similar symbol on its hilt. Despite never having been seen before, he was quite strong, reinforced by his tall, muscular body.

Thinker, the leader of the Aincrad Liberation Force (or ALF for short), had called everyone to the meeting. "Thank you all for coming. As I`m sure you know by now, many players of my guild went to challenge the boss of floor 25 last night. This endangered not only them, but also fellow players who went to their rescue. Those of you who did, have my sincerest gratitude".

Saki and his group nodded in acknowledgement.

"Many members of my guild perished in the fight," Thinker continued. "As much as it pains me to say, we no longer have the strength to lead the assault team". Many player were shocked at this, though the ones who had helped weren`t. Since they had seen how the massacre of a boss fight went, they expected to hear that.

"I will step down as leader, the one to replace me has already been chosen" Thinker stated. Kaito could have sworn he heard someone silently cursing, but decided to ignore it. Thinker motioned to his side and Heathcliff stepped forward. "This is Heathcliff, the new leader of the assault team. He was a great help in the floor 25 boss fight. He currently doesn`t belong to any guild". Thinker then stepped back to let Heathcliff speak.

"Greetings fellow members of the assault team. My name is Heathcliff, as Thinker stated" Heathcliff said. "As he also stated, I do not belong any guild. However, I would like to change that". Many players raised an eyebrow at this. "I will be creating a new guild, known as the Knights of the Blood Oath. I will be inviting members to join the guild personally. Now, if anyone has any objections to me taking over as leader, feel free to say so now".

While many players were shocked at his announcement, they went silent after he said the last bit. Weather it was from respecting his strength or the immense pressure he was giving of, no one could tell.

"No one seems to have any, good. That would be all everyone. Now if you`ll excuse me, I need to attend to some business before starting the Knights of the Blood Oath" with that statement, Heathcliff left. The other players decided to do the same.

* * *

Kaito was staring out over the horizon, the boss fight still fresh in his mind. Not only had many players died, he couldn`t do anything about it.

"Still mourning huh?" Saki, who had come to check on his friend, asked. Kaito turned towards him, and gave him a sad smile.

"I can`t help it" he replied. "I know there was nothing I could`ve done, but it still sucks".

"Ditto. I knew that it would be painful," the white haired boy`s eyes went downcast "but I never imagined it would hurt THIS much". He then looked back up at his blue haired friend. "Still, we both knew this would happen eventually" Saki stated.

"Sadly you`re right" Kaito admitted. He then turned back to the horizon. "Hey, you ever wonder what everyone`s parents are thinking?" he asked. Saki remained silent, eyes downcast. Kaito then turned back towards him. "Hey, can I ask you something?" he asked.

"…I`m listening" Saki stated.

"Let`s do our best to protect our friends" Kaito said. "We can`t guarantee that they won`t die, but-".

"I get what you mean and I thought we were already doing that" Saki cut him off with a small smile. Kaito sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and chuckled. The two friend's fist pumped, a gesture that was common for them.

"Let`s go" Kaito said. Saki nodded and they walked off.

* * *

As they got back to their house, they noticed Anna sitting on the couch. "Where`s Sam?" Kaito asked.

"He went back up to his room" Anna simply replied. Saki and Kaito took their seats on both sides of the red haired friend.

"That boss fight was really tiring," Kaito said.

"You said it," Anna agreed. "To be honest, I`m not sure about Heathcliff leading the assault team" she stated.

"I imagine others feel the same way," Saki said. "He`s a strong player who came out of nowhere, even if he was a big help there`s too much we don`t know about him".

"Still, better him than us" Kaito stated. Saki nodded, while Anna scratched her chin in thought. She then snapped her fingers and dashed up the stairs. Saki and Kaito looked at her, both rather confused, though it was less noticeable on Saki. Anna stopped in front of the door to Sam`s room and knocked at it a couple of times. After a few moments, the door opened. Sam came out, now wearing a simple yellow shirt and some yellow pants.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Ca you come down stairs for a bit?" Anna asked.

"Sure, what`s the occasion?" Sam asked.

"Nothing special" Anna simply replied. Sam was unsure what she meant by that, but shrugged it off. He then followed her down the stairs.

"Anyway, why did you bring me down here?" Sam asked.

"I wanted to ask you all something" Anna replied. "I`ve thought about this for a while, but now I NEED to tell this", she then took a deep breath. "How would you guys feel about forming a guild?" she asked. The three boys blinked at the red haired girl`s question. Saki and Kaito averted their eyes.

"I don`t know, seems like a bad idea" Saki admitted.

"Yeah, things could end horribly" Kaito agreed. Anna simply smiled sadly.

"I think it`s a good idea" Sam stated, causing the other three to turn to him. "Yeah it`s risky, but it would make tracking each other easier. Plus, we share items, meaning that managing them will be a cinch," he added.

"…Good point" Saki said. He then looked at Kaito, who gave him a nod in confirmation. "Well then, let`s do it" he added.

"Great!" Anna exclaimed. "Now then, who should be the leader?" she asked. Kaito put his hand on his chin, while Anna rested her head on her left hand on the table. After a while, the two boys turned towards Saki.

"How would you like to be our leader?" Sam and Kaito asked at the same time. Anna however, didn`t say anything.

"Something wrong Anna?" Sam asked. Anna only shook her head.

"It`s nothing" she replied. "So what`s your answer Saki?" she asked.

"…Works for me" Saki replied. "Kaito should be our sub-leader" he added. Anna let out a sigh of relief mentally.

"What name should we have?" Kaito asked.

"Black Fang" Sam suggested. None of the three others disapproved of the name.

"Then our colors should be black and purple" Anna stated. The three boys nodded. "Leave the clothes to me" Anna stated confidently. She then dashed out the door. Kaito shook his head, while Sam chuckled and Saki was unfazed.

* * *

A few hours later, Anna came back. She was now wearing a black dress with purple highlights and a purple skirt, lightweight armor on her upper body, black stockings with purple linings and black plated shoes. For Sam, she had gotten black leather armor with a black cape with a purple outline, black plated boots and black fingerless gloves.

She gave Kaito black body armor, similar to Heathcliff`s, with a purple cape. Saki had gotten a jet-black coat with purple trimmings along the edge of it, a purple shirt with a black diamond symbol and new fingerless gloves.

Saki and Kaito both carried their weapons on their back, while Sam and Anna had their weapons on their waist. They had also gotten the most powerful versions of their weapons they could get at the moment. They were the **Black Fang** , a new guild in SAO.

 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year.**


	7. Chapter 7: The famous Silica

**A/N: I own nothing except my Ocs. All rights go to their respective owners.**

The front lines had reached floor 35 recently, thanks to the new leader, Heathcliff. Alongside his guild, the Knights of the Blood Oath, which Asuna was part of as the second-in-command; they had lead the front lines to victory against the bosses of many floors.

Nagi and Luke were wandering through the fields of floor 30. They were still searching for Nagi`s brother, with no leads on who he could be. "Are you sure he`s even playing this game?" Luke had asked.

"I know he`s playing this game, he told me that much" was Nagi`s response. While they were searching, they were also practicing by fighting weaker monsters. Luke was getting the hand of using a sword, while Nagi was all right with a spear. Still, both agreed they weren`t ready for the front lines right now.

"Look Nagi, I don`t think we will find your brother by wandering through these fields" Luke stated. Luna gave a cry in agreement.

"I guess you`re right," Nagi admitted. They made their way back to the town, Luna sitting on Luke`s shoulder. As they were walking through the town, they heard various whispers. They didn`t pay attention to them though. Nagi was looking everywhere, trying to find her lost brother. As she was doing so, she spotted a blue haired individual.

" _Could that be him_?" she wondered. She went for it and ran towards them, Luke trying to keep up. However, she ran into someone else. The impact caused both of them both to fall over.

"Hey, are you two alright?" Luke asked. The other person turned out to be a girl around their age, with brown hair tied by two red ribbons and red eyes. She wore a yellow outfit and had a small dagger in a sheath around her waist. Luke also noticed the **«Little Feathered Dragon»** floating above her head.

"Sorry, I should`ve seen where I ran" Nagi said. She got up while Luke helped the other girl stand up. Said girl dusted off her clothes and the three of them walked of.

* * *

After a few minutes, they found a bench to sit down on.

"Sorry, again" Nagi apologized.

"It`s fine, don`t worry" the girl assured. "I`m Silica" she added.

"My name is Nagi, and this is Luke" Nagi introduced the two of them.

"Nice to meet you both" Silica happily said. Above them, the two small dragons flew in circles.

"I see you have tamed a dragon as well" Luke stated.

"Yep, I named it Pina" Silica nodded.

"I call mine Luna" Luke said.

"I guess you feed yours eats peanuts too" Silica assumed.

"Yup" Luke responded. Nagi then coughed into her hand.

"I`m here to you know" she pouted.

"Oh right, sorry. We didn`t mean to leave you out" Silica apologized.

"Sorry" Luke repeated. Just then, a few boys slightly older than them approached them.

"Hey look, it`s Silica!" one of them exclaimed.

"You wanna join our guild?" another asked.

"I think I`ll pass thanks" Silica politely turned down the request.

"Aw, oh well" the boy said. They then walked away, making Silica sigh in relief.

"Why didn`t you take up their offer?" Nagi asked.

"They just wanted me to be their mascot, since I`ve tamed a dragon and all" Silica replied.

"That`s demeaning" Luke stated.

"It`s fine, I`m used to it" Silica assured him, though Luke still looked unsure.

"I can`t imagine people being like that" Nagi mused. She then remembered something. "Sorry, but we need to get going" she stated.

"Okay, take care" Silica said.

"You to" Nagi replied.

"Come on Luna" Luke called out, said dragon flew over to him and sat on his head. This caused Silica to giggle. "What is it?" he asked, confused.

"It`s nothing" Silica replied, though she was still smiling. Luke then walked off with Nagi following him.

* * *

The two of them were now on floor 28. It was nighttime and they were in the wolf plains, a dungeon located on the floor. They were fighting some wolves to practice. One of them leaped at Nagi, who dogged it by hopping to the side. She then stabbed the animal with her spear, lowering it`s HP. She then slashed at it, draining it down to zero.

"That`s one down" she muttered. She then looked to her side, only to find another wolf growling at her. It leaped at her, though this time she couldn`t doge it in time. It brought her into the ground, lowering her HP. Before it could bite at her, she swung her spear into its side, knocking it away. Before it could get back up, Luke stabbed it with his sword, dropping its HP to zero. It shattered into polygon fragments and Nagi got up.

"That`s the last one" Luke stated, Nagi nodded. They then heard a howl in the distance. "Never mind" he grumbled. Just then, a figure ran towards them. It leaped at them, but they rolled out of the way. The two young players looked at it and saw that it was a wolf, but it looked different. It had purple fur, two tails with orange fur on the ends and red glowing eyes. It also had four spikes growing out of it`s back. It was called **«Blood Wolf Leader»**.

It growled at Luke, causing the green haired to back up in fear. It then leaped at him, though Luke was too afraid to move. He covered his face in fear, waiting for it to hit him. However, it simply scratched his shield. Nagi took the opportunity to stab it with her spear. It`s HP lowered slightly and it growled in pain. Luke lowered his arms and saw the blood wolf getting back up.

" _W-What is this thing?_ " he asked mentally. Luna then flew over to the blood wolf and shot bubbles at it. The wolf clawed at the air in confusion.

"Now`s our chance!" Nagi exclaimed. Luke snapped out of his thoughts and ran after Nagi, towards the confused wolf. They activated a sword skill and hit the wolf with two powerful stabs. It shattered into polygon fragments. Luke sheathed his sword, while Nagi put away her spear and Luna sat down on Luke`s left shoulder.

"I think we should call it quits for now" Luke stated as he walked of.

"What happened back?" Nagi asked. As she asked that, Luke stopped dead in his tracks. Luna looked at its tamer with a questioning look as he turned to face his brown haired friend.

"Uh well…it`s kind of embarrassing. It resembled something I`d see in my nightmares" he admitted while rubbing his chin in embarrassment, looking away. "I`m easily frightened by things like that," at this point, he was blushing slightly. Nagi walked over to him and placed a hand on his right shoulder.

"It`s fine, everyone is scared of something" she assured him with a smile. Luke smiled back at her, nodding as thanks. Luna then nuzzled its head into Luke`s left cheek, causing the young tamer to giggle.

"Come on, let`s get back to finding your brother" Luke stated. Nagi nodded and Luna made a happy screech in agreement. With that, the quest to find Nagi`s brother continued.

 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I decided to develop Luke and Nagi a little more. Anyways, see you next chapter.**


	8. Chapter 8: A little break

**A/N: I own nothing except my Ocs. All rights go to their respective owners.**

The front lines had now gotten to floor 48, though most players never went above floor 40. At this point, clearing the floors had become rather difficult. The monsters were powerful, the bosses were tricky and there were traps everywhere. The Black Fang were helping clear the game, becoming well known among low-level players.

Kaito was walking around the fields of floor 44. He had his weapon and armor equipped, in case someone or something tried to get the jump on him. He eventually stopped, once he found a place of interest. It was a cliff with a clear view of a waterfall.

"It`s beautiful" he said in awe. The way the sun`s rays bounced off the water and hit his face felt refreshing. Kaito then let out a yawn. "Man I`m tired" he said. "Clearing floors has been rather tiring." He looked around and saw a tree nearby. He then sat down under it, put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. The small breeze felt nice against his face.

After a few hours, Kaito slowly opened his eyes. He let out a yawn and stretched his arms in the air.

"About time you woke up" a familiar voice stated. Kaito turned in its direction and saw Sam without his mask, a rare sight. He also noticed that Sam had gold eyes, rather than blue like he had assumed. Upon looking around a bit, he also saw Saki and Anna, the latter of which was sitting on a blanket with a basket of some kind.

"When did you guys get here?" Kaito asked.

"Not long ago" Saki replied. Just then, Anna handed them something wrapped up.

"What is this?" Sam asked.

"That`s for me to know and for you to figure out" Anna smiled. Sam pouted, but took the object anyway. All three boys took of the wrapping. The thing she had given them turned out to be a sandwich.

"Did you make this?" Saki asked.

"Mhm" Anna smiled.

"That`s…surprising" Sam stated.

"Why did you do this?" Kaito asked.

"I thought we could all take a break from the front lines," Anna explained.

"Weren`t you the one who made a speech about how we need to clear this game as quickly as possible?" Kaito teased.

"S-Shup up" Anna retorted, looking away and blushing.

" _Wow, she`s kinda cute_ " Kaito thought. " _Wait, I can`t think that_ " he shock his head. He then took a bite of his sandwich. Sam and Saki did the same.

"Well, how does it taste?" Anna asked in anticipation.

"…It was alright" Saki was the first to reply.

"Define `alright´" Anna asked.

"It could use some work, but it`s better than anything that we could probably make" Saki replied.

"Hey!" the other two males exclaimed.

"At least he`s honest" Anna smiled. Sam and Kaito could only sigh.

* * *

Back at their base, they were all doing their own things. Sam was running through the guilds inventory, Saki was reading in his room and Kaito and Anna were sitting on the couch.

The book Saki was reading was a book on tactics. He had decided to become the group`s tactician around the time they decided to fight at the front lines. The book itself was fairly thick, around 200-250 pages was Saki`s guess. He had read through the first 50 pages, which was mostly about the basics and some strategies. He then heard someone knocking on the door.

"Come in!" he called. The door opened and Sam was the one who entered.

"Hey" the masked blonde simply stated.

"What is it?" Saki asked.

"It`s important" Sam said. Saki closed his book and put it on the desk next to him. "You`ve heard of PK`ers right?" Sam asked. Saki nodded. "Well, turns out that there are more than just the Laughing Coffin" Sam explained.

"Not THAT surprising" Saki stated.

"Why?" Sam asked.

"Some people simply prefer the virtual world to the real world," Saki explained.

"I don`t get people like that" Sam sighed.

"Still, even if we wanted to stop them, there`s too many of them" Saki stated.

"True" Sam agreed.

"Before I forget, how is our inventory looking?" Saki asked.

"It`s looking just fine" Sam replied.

"Good" Saki said.

Sam nodded and left the room, leaving the tactician in trainning alone


	9. Chapter 9: An old friend appears

**I own nothing except this story and my Oc`s. All rights go to their respective owners.**

Nagi was wandering around Floria, the main town of floor 47. Like most of the floor, Floria was covered in a wide variety of flowers. Their colors ranged from blue to pink to violet. Essentially all the colors of the rainbow, and then some. Many male-female couples liked to visit the town because of this. Even as she was walking through the town, Nagi could see many of them.

"Hey!" she heard someone call out to her. She turned in the direction of the voice, and saw a familiar face. It was the brown haired dragon tamer Silica.

"Hey Silica" Nagi waved. Silica waved back. She then noticed something.

"Luke`s not with you?" she asked.

"He went to get his equipment repaired" Nagi replied.

"I see" Silica noted. She sounded somewhat disappointed. Nagi then got an idea.

"Did you want to go on a date with him or something?" she asked with a devilish grin.

"Wha- No! It`s not like that" Silica exclaimed, her cheeks getting red.

"I was just teasing you" Nagi giggled. "Although, you two would make a cute couple" she noted.

"Hey!" they heard a familiar voice call out. Speak of the devil, it was Luke.

"L-Luke!" Silica exclaimed, still rather flustered.

"Oh, hey Silica. It`s been a while" Luke said. The two dragons circled around the three players happily. "Looks like Pina is happy to see Luna" Luke chuckled.

"Let`s go find a place to sit" Silica suggested, her blush having died down and to change the subject. Luke and Nagi nodded and they went to do just that. They eventually found a bench near a fountain. Not many people there, luckily for them. The three of them sat down, Nagi and Silica on both sides of Luke.

"So how have you been doing?" Nagi asked.

"Just fine" Silica replied. "Any luck in your search?"

"Sadly no" Nagi shook her head. "No matter where we look, he just isn`t there"

"Do you think some of his friends could be playing this game to?" Luke asked.

"That`s…a good idea" Nagi said in realization.

"You never thought about this before?" Silica asked. Luke rubbed the back of his head while Nagi just nervously chuckled.

"I guess neither of us did" Luke admitted. "Anyway, that`s a good idea."

"Yeah" Nagi agreed. "I think at least one of his friends is playing this game."

"One of them" Silica asked.

"My brother is very popular" Nagi clarified. Silica nodded in understand. "Well then, let`s go!" the young player exclaimed triumphantly.

"Wait, hold-" but it was too late. Nagi had already ran off. "I should get going" he said.

"Right, see you later" Silica smiled. Luke nodded and ran after the brown haired spear wielder. Silica giggled, " _Those two can be pretty funny_ " she thought.

* * *

Luke had caught up with Nagi, right outside the teleport gate. She quickly apologized before they continued walking. Nagi recalled her brother mentioning playing the game with a friend. He never mentioned exactly who it was though, much to Nagi`s dismay. Regardless, the two young players kept searching.

They were currently walking through a field on floor 48.

"Hey Luke" Nagi said.

"What is it?" Luke asked.

"Not that I mind, but, why are you helping me?" Nagi asked. "I mean, I`m just a stranger. Why should help me?" Her eyes then went downcast, "I…I don`t want to drag you any further into this" she stated. However, she could feel a comforting hand on her shoulder. She looked up and saw the green haired boy smiling at her.

"I`m helping you because I want to" he replied. A smile appeared on Nagi`s lips. "I will continue to help you until we find him" Luke added.

"Right" Nagi nodded. Much to Luke`s surprise, Nagi wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him. "Thanks, I needed that" she said.

"Uh, yeah. No problem" Luke said, feeling slightly flustered from the sudden hug. Nagi let go. "Now let`s go and find that friend of his" Luke said in determination.

"Yeah!" Nagi exclaimed happily. The two of them continued walking.

* * *

On the way, they noticed a player standing near the entrance to a hut of some kind. As they turned around, Luke could tell they were female by her soft facial features. She had long, flowing dark red hair, which seemed familiar to Luke, as did her blue eyes. She wore a light blue and white dress like uniform, similar to that of Asuna, along with a chest plate and armor pieces on her arms and legs. She also wore blue fingerless gloves and blue boots. A rapier was sheathed on her waist and black framed glasses rested on the bridge of her nose.

" _Wait, is that…?_ " Luke thought as he tried to get a closer look at the woman. As she faced them, Luke recognized her. "Tsubaki?" as he muttered that name, the girl turned to face. Her face went from normal to shock in an instant.

"Luke!?" she called out, half yelling, half asking. The boy walked over to her, with Nagi following behind. "What in the world are you doing here?" the girl, Tsubaki, asked him.

"I could ask you the same thing" Luke retorted frowning.

"Wait, you know her?" Nagi asked.

"Yeah" Luke simply.

"Then why didn`t you tell me about her earlier?" Nagi angrily shouted.

"I didn`t know she was playing this game, honest" Luke said, putting his hands up in defense.

"…Fair enough" Nagi stated, though it was obvious she wasn`t satisfied with his answer. Still, she decided not to question him further.

"Come inside" Tsubaki offered the two young players. They had no reason to refuse the offer, so they accepted. Tsubaki opened the door and let them inside. The hut seemed fairly big, more than big enough for the three of them. Tsubaki sat down on a chair while Luke and Nagi took their seats on the couch opposite of her.

"So, you call yourself Titania?" Luke asked, looking at the name displayed above the player avatar.

"Correct," Titania replied. "and your friend?"

"My name is Nagi" Nagi said. Titania nodded. "We`re looking for my brother, can you help us?" Nai asked.

"We would greatly appreciate it" Luke added. Titania frowned before looking away.

"Regrettably, I can`t" she stated, causing Luke and Nagi`s expressions to darken. "I have some…business to attend to" the red head added after a short pause.

"What kind of business?" Nagi asked.

"None of _your_ business" Titania replied sternly, causing Nagi to flinch.

"Maybe we can help" Luke suggested.

"No" Titania stated, shutting it down. "It is far too dangerous for you. Now, if there is nothing else you want, please leave" The two players stood up and left. Once they left the hut, Titania let out a deep sigh, " _Sorry Luke, but I can`t take that risk. If something happens to you, your sister will never forgive me_ " she apologized mentally.

 **A/N: And there is another character, Titania the rapier wielder and friend of Luke. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

 **Finally, it`s done! My god this chapter took** _ **forever**_ **to finish. With delays, rewrites, computer problems, not to mention school, it took a while. However, it is done now. As always, thank you for reading and I`ll see you next time.**


	10. Chapter 10: Preperatory trainning

**I own nothing except this story and my OCs. All rights go to their respective owners.**

The Black Fang were having a meeting. Rather suddenly, Saki had called the others back to the headquarters. For what he had not told them, but he told them to hurry. Sam had arrived first and was sitting in a chair in the living room. Saki was sitting on the couch, twiddling his thumbs.

"When are you going to tell me what`s so urgent?" Sam asked.

"When Kaito and Anna get here" Saki replied.

"You could just tell me now and tell those two once they get here" Sam suggested.

"I`d rather not repeat myself" Saki retorted.

"Fair enough" Sam stated. He then unequipped his mask. His golden eyes scanned the room, trying to find something to occupy his time. Sadly, he found nothing of interest. He sighed and leaned back in the chair.

A few minutes later, Kaito and Anna arrived. The axe wielder sat down next to his best friend and the red haired girl sat down on the other chair.

"So, what was so urgent?" Anna asked.

"It`s about the next floor boss" Saki replied. This gained the other`s attention, making them drop everything they were doing. "You guys remember the 25th floor boss right?" the white haired tactician asked.

"How could we forget that massacre of a boss fight" Anna retorted. The other two boys simply averted their gazes.

"Right, that boss was very difficult. Even more so than the 26th floor boss" Saki agreed.

"And your point is?" Anna asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I, along with a few others, have a theory" Saki explained. "Maybe the bosses on the 25 numbered floors were made more difficult than the ones before and after them." The house fell into an awkward silence. Kaito rubbed his chin in deep thought, while Anna and Sam were leaning their heads on their hands. Kaito then snapped his fingers.

"Like a super boss?" he suggested.

"What`s a "super boss" exactly?" Anna asked.

"I`m afraid I`ve never heard of the term either" Sam stated.

"It`s the term used for an extremely difficult boss in a game" Saki explained. "Think of it as the ultimate challenge the game has to offer" the tactician stated. Sam and Anna nodded in understanding.

"Though all super bosses I`ve seen or heard of were either optional or near the end of the game. Not a fourth of the way through" Kaito stated.

"Alright, but why those four bosses specifically?" Sam asked.

"Not sure" Saki simply replied. "If I had to guess it would be to make sure the game isn`t too easy." Sam put a hand on his chin.

"If your theory is correct, then this next boss will be extremely though" Sam said.

"And that brings me to why I called you all here" Saki stated. "In preparation for this, we will all be doing specialized training." The others tilted their heads in confusion. "We are all going to train in areas that need improvement" he clarified.

"I see" Kaito said in understanding.

"Kaito, Anna, since you two are used to fighting by yourselves you`ll train together" Saki said.

"Why us specifically?" Anna asked.

"I figured that it would benefit you more to train with someone who`s slower than you" Saki replied.

"Ah, I see. That`s a good idea" Anna stated.

"Well then, let`s go Anna" Kaito said. Anna nodded and the two walked towards the exit of the home.

"Don`t get yourselves killed" Saki added.

"We have no intention to" Kaito replied with a confident smile. The two players then exited the guild`s headquarters.

"There they go" Saki mumbled. The white haired tactician then turned back towards the blonde rapier user. "As for us, we will be training separately" he stated.

"Sounds alright, but wouldn`t it be better for us to pair up to?" Sam asked.

"While we get more drops and col out fighting together, you never know when we might get separated" Saki replied. "It`s better to be prepared than not."

"Fair enough" Sam said. He then equipped his mask and a strong rapier, before heading out to train.

* * *

Kaito and Anna had gone to a canyon on floor 49. They had just picked the place at random. The enemies in the area mainly consisted of tigers and lions. A yellow tiger leaped at Kaito, ready to claw at the axe wielder. Kaito responded by swinging his axe at the animal, knocking it out of the air. As it landed on its side, Kaito took the opportunity and jumped towards the tiger and swung his axe at it once more. It let out a cry in pain before exploding into polygon fragments. Kaito then noticed a lion and another tiger circling him.

"Okay, this could go horribly wrong" the blue haired boy thought. At a moment`s notice, the two animals leaped at him. Kaito jumped back, causing the animals to collide in mid-air. Kaito then swung his axe over his shoulder, activating a sword skill that caused his weapon to glow purple. He then cleaved the animals in two with a powerful swing, cutting the animals in half and making them explode into fragments. However, unknown to the blue haired axe wielder, a lion had snuck up behind him.

"Behind you!" he heard Anna call out to him. He turned around, only to come face to face with the animal. It pounced on him and knocked him into the ground. He also dropped his axe. The lion tried to bite his face, but Kaito leaned his head to the left. It then slashed its claws across his face, lowering his HP. In a moment`s notice, the lion was struck in its side and knocked away from Kaito. Anna had knocked it away with a sword skill.

"You okay?" Anna asked as she helped him up.

"Yeah, thanks" Kaito replied. The lion, who had lost more than half its HP from the attack, got back up. However, it failed to notice the blue haired player in front of it. To remind it, Kaito swung his axe upward, knocking it into the air and lowered its HP to zero, making it explode into fragments.

"That`s it for this area" Kaito stretched before pulling out a healing crystal. Anna, who had done the same, held hers towards him.

"Heal!" at the command, the crystals shattered and their HP was restored.

"Let`s go and get our weapons repaired, just in case" Anna suggested.

"Why can`t we just ask Liz?" Kaito asked.

"We have no idea where she is" Anna stated. "Besides, she probably has other things to do."

"Good point" Kaito agreed. The two players then walked towards the teleport gate.

The two young players walked through Myujen, the main settlement of floor 49. The town mainly consisted of three-story tall buildings and hotels. There were also many small gift shop kiosks in the town`s central market. Kaito looked around with a big smile on his face.

"Wow, to think a town this big could be created in a game" he thought. As he awed at the town, Anna smiled at his behavior.

" _Hm, he`s actually kind of cute like that_ " she mused. " _Wait, why would I be thinking that?"_ she asked as her face heated up. She shook her head, trying to get her thoughts straight.

"You okay?" she heard Kaito ask.

"Yeah" Anna replied with a nod.

"H-Hey, Anna?" Kaito asked, stuttering while blushing. The red haired girl noticed this, tilting her head slightly in confusion. "…Would you like to go on a date with me?" After he asked that, Anna jumped back in surprise while blushing.

"S-Shouldn`t you have asked that earlier?" she asked.

"I couldn`t find a better time" Kaito retorted. Anna blinked a couple of times.

"Uh, sure. When is it?" Anna answered, looked at her feet while blushing. Kaito looked at her in surprise.

" _Wait, she just said yes. Alright!_ " he mentally high fived himself. "Does two days from now sound good?" he asked.

"Sounds good" Anna replied, smiling at the blue haired boy. "Now, let`s get back to work" she stated. Kaito nodded and they went to find a blacksmith to repair their weapons.

* * *

Sam had headed to one of the forests outside of town. A brown furred bear with red glowing eyes approached him. The animal tried to swipe at him with its claws. However, Sam used his speed to avoid the attack and get behind it. He then preformed a sword skill, his rapier glowing a silver color. With a powerful thrust, the enemy exploded into polygon fragments. Sam heard rustling behind him, so he quickly turned around. Another bear came out from behind the trees. It let out a roar, giving Sam a massive opening. He dashed towards it at great speed and drove his rapier through the animal. It cried out in pain as its HP was lowered. However, the animal the swiped at him with its claws. Sam hopped back, but was still scratched across his mask.

"That was close" he thought. He then attacked the animal with the hilt of his blade, then slashed it diagonally across the chest. Its HP went to zero and it exploded into blue polygon fragments. Sam began heading deeper into the woods. Luckily for him, there was a path to follow. After a few minutes, he encountered another enemy. It was a tall, red mantis with orange eyes. It had four arachnid legs and two scythe-like limbs sticking out of the sides of its chest. One side was red while the other looked more like metal scythes. Above its red cursor read «Crimson Mantis».

The creature jumped into the air. As it fell, it brought one of its scythe-limbs downward. Sam hoped back to avoid the attack, causing it to dig into the ground. Taking the opportunity, Sam activated a sword skill. As his rapier glowed silver, he performed three quick stabs at its chest. After it pulled its scythe-limb out of the ground, it guarded its chest by crossing the two limbs. Sam then kneeled down and slashed at its two front legs. He then got back up and preformed three more powerful stabs, one high, one low and a last one in its chest. The monsters HP went down into the red zone.

" _So close!_ " Sam thought while gritting his teeth in frustration. He the dashed towards it and stabbed it in the face. However, it was also able to cut him across his face, cutting his mask in half with one of its scythe-limbs. As he lost some HP, the enemy exploded into blue polygon fragments. Sam then glanced at his surroundings, before sheathing his rapier. He then proceeded to walk deeper into the woods. However, he soon heard a distressed cry for help. Sam quickly ran in the direction of the yell. After passing a number of trees, he came to an open area of the woods.

"GAH!" as he heard the cry of pain, he stopped and saw a young male falling to the ground. There were cut marks all over the avatar, arms and legs included. "Please…save me" he weakly said, reaching his hand into the air. Sam tried to take the boy`s hand, however he exploded into polygon fragments before Sam could.

"Another one bites the dust" he heard a male player chuckle. Sam glared in the direction of the voice, only to see a familiar face.

 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter, what will happen next? Just who is this familiar face? Find out next chapter, see you then everyone.**


	11. Chapter 11: An old enemy returns

**I own nothing except this story and my OC`s. All rights go to their respective owners.**

"Seiji?" Sam said in disbelief.

"In the flesh" Seiji himself replied. Sam had not seen the brown haired player in a very long time. Ever since he and his comrades had been run over by the hoard of boars, they had simply disappeared.

" _Seems like they have grown a great deal stronger to_ " Sam mentally noted. Their levels had sky rocketed and their equipment was much better, their armor being a sturdy silver kind. Seiji also had a two handed sword now, as supposed to the one handed kind he had before. There was also one more thing Sam noticed.

"An orange cursor…so, you are PK`ers" he stated.

"Correct…uh, what was your name again?" Seiji said. "Oh well, doesn`t really matter. You just die like the rest" he smirked.

"I will not allow to cause any more harm" Sam stated, pointing his rapier at the brown haired PK`er.

"Wow, you`re just letting me have my revenge? Works for me" Seiji shrugged and pulled out his two handed sword. "I`ll take down this guy by myself" he told his comrades.

"Whatever" they shrugged. The green eyed leader smirked, staring the blonde down. To kick of the battle, Seiji leaped into the air. He then swung his sword downwards. Sam hopped backwards, avoiding the strike. As the brown haired PK`er landed on the ground, Sam ran past him. As he did, the blonde swung his weapon and slashed Seiji`s arm. He then turned around and sprinted back towards the brown haired player.

"Idiot" Seiji muttered, looking behind him. He spun around, swinging his sword as he turned his body. Sam noticed this and parried the strike with his own weapon. As the players stepped back from the recoil, Sam attempted to stab Seiji in the face. However, he swatted the blade away with his own, only cutting his cheek.

" _Oh no!_ " Sam mentally exclaimed. Before he could react, he felt a foot hit his stomach hard, knocking him backwards. He collided with a tree. Looking forward, he saw Seiji smirking and taking a fighting stance. With a growl, Sam got up while glancing at Seiji`s HP bar. He noticed a symbol next to it, much like the Black Fang symbol next to his bar or the KoB one next to Asuna`s. " _So, he`s part of a guild as well_ " he noted.

"This is too easy" Seiji arrogantly stated. Sam then dashed forward, rapier at his side. Seiji smirked before leaping towards the blonde and slashing vertically. Sam responded by side-stepping out of the way. After that, he spun around charged at Seiji full speed, slashing him twice across the back. Seiji attempted to decapitate the blonde with a swing, but Sam hopped back to avoid the slash. "This is getting good" Seiji said.

"Hey boss, let us take a crack at him" one of the guild mates whined.

"Sorry, but no. This guy`s mine" Seiji responded. The tree guild mates groaned, but it was ignored.

"Seriously, you`ve fought everyone today. Let us do SOMETHING" the tallest one said.

"Then go DO something" Seiji retorted. The argument just continued, retorts being tossed back and forth. Sam used the opportunity to quickly run away from the area, escaping the group of Player Killers.

* * *

That evening the Black Fang had gathered at their headquarters. They had given reports of their progress. Saki had done nothing special, while Kaito and Anna were getting better. Sam`s report however, shocked the three guild mates.

"You mean, THAT Seiji?" Anna asked. Sam nodded.

"The one we met on the second floor?" Kaito asked.

"The very same" Sam replied. "Even with a higher level and different equipment, he was the same loudmouthed person as before."

"I never imagined he would become a PK`er" Anna muttered. Saki remained silent, crossing his arms.

"I saw him kill one…I was too late to save him" Sam clenched his fist in frustration. "If only I had gotten there sooner" he said through gritted teeth. However, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Kaito looking at him with a smile.

"It`s fine, don`t beat yourself up over it" he stated.

"Right…" Sam trailed of, looking away.

"So Saki, as our leader, what do you think we should do?" Anna asked the white haired boy.

"…For now, we should focus on the boss" Saki replied. The others gave him skeptical looks.

"You sure? These guys could become a problem if we don`t deal with them now" Sam stated.

"True, but based on his reaction to seeing you again, they don`t seem to be actively looking for us" Saki explained. "Besides, we can actually prevent deaths in the fight."

"Good point" Anna said. Sam and Kaito simply nodded in agreement. "Anyways, who`s hungry?" Anna asked.

"I sure am" Kaito replied with a grin.

"I could go for something to eat" Saki said.

"Right then, let me whip something up for us" Anna stated before entering the kitchen.

"I`ll go get some plates" Sam said as he followed her. After the blonde had left, Kaito turned towards his best friend.

"That was a rather quick decision" he stated. "Guess that`s why we made you our leader" he smiled.

"You would know that better than me" Saki said. Kaito then leaned in closer.

"Hey man, can you keep a secret?" the blue haired boy asked.

"My lips are sealed" Saki stated, his expression not changing.

"So, you know Anna right?" Kaito asked. Saki nodded. "Well…how do I put this?" Kaito scratched his chin in thought, looking away bashfully. "I, um… asked Anna out" he let out.

"As in?" Saki asked.

"…date" Kaito mumbled. Saki raised an eyebrow.

"Could you speak up?" he asked.

"I said as in on a date" Kaito replied.

"…I see" Saki said.

"Look, just promise that you tell anyone, ESPECIALLY Asuna, about this" the blue haired friend stated.

"As I said, you have my word" Saki repeated.

"Promise?" Kaito asked.

"Promise" Saki simply replied.

"What are you two talking about?" The two friends turned in the direction to see Anna and Sam, the red haired girl holding a bowl.

"Nothing special" Saki replied. Anna looked towards Sam, who was holding a stack of four plates. He simply shrugged before walking towards the table. Anna decided to do the same. The four friends happily ate the meal, a chicken salad made by Anna. Kaito at many points complemented Anna on the dish, she would usually respond with a slight blush. The evening had passed by uneventfully and night had come quickly. The four friends went to do their own things, before finally heading to bed. As Sam stared out his window, he thought about the meeting with Seiji.

" _I hope Saki really thought about this_ " was his final thought before he went to sleep.

 **A/N: That was the chapter, sorry if it was too short. I`ll try to get out the next chapter a bit quicker. What did you think of the duel? Please give me feedback on how I could improve them for the future. See you next time.**


	12. Chapter 12: Reunion part I

**I own nothing except my Oc`s. All rights go to their respective owners.**

It had been months since the beginning of the search for Nagi`s brother. Unfortunately, they had not gotten any closer to finding him. Nagi had begun to lose hope, not knowing where he was. However, Luke encouraged her to keep looking. The pair had asked many players for help, sadly not many bothered and even less helped.

Luke and Nagi had gone back to a hotel they were staying at. Nagi was prancing back and forth in the room, while Luke sat on the bed with Luna on his lap.

"Any ideas yet?" Luke asked. The brown haired girl turned towards the green haired dragon tamer.

"Aside from the front lines, no" she replied. She then flopped onto her bed, staring at the celling with a sigh. "Do you remember the name of the guild leading the front lines?" Nagi asked.

"It was the Knights of the Blood Oath" Luke replied. "Maybe we can ask around where their base is located" he suggested.

"Yeah, we may actually have SOME success that way" Nagi replied. Luke simply looked down at Luna, who was sleeping peacefully on his lap. To his surprise however, Nagi hopped out of her bed and did a quick stretch. "Well, if we`re gonna try to get help from those front line players, we will need to raise our levels" she stated.

"You have a point" Luke admitted.

"Do you have any good places in mind?" Nagi asked, turning towards her green haired friend.

"Two actually" Luke said in response. At his reply, Nagi felt excitement bubble up inside her entire body.

"So, what are our options?" she asked.

"Well, we can either go to the Ant Hill. We can level up very fast there, but we can only be there for one hour at most" Luke explained. Nagi`s gaze fell to the floor as she grew depressed.

"Of course there would be some kind of limit like that" she muttered. Luke simply leaned over and patted her shoulder.

"The other option is going to the Hill of Memories" he continued. "The enemies there are not as strong, but that makes it easier to manage."

"Which do you prefer?" Nagi asked.

"The Hill of Memories" Luke replied. "There is a smaller risk of us dying." Nagi nodded and got up.

"Alright, let`s get going!" she exclaimed happily with a raised fist. Luke soon found himself smiling at her.

" _Things never get boring with her around at least_ " he thought. The two friends then headed out, Luke waking up his tamed dragon Luna.

* * *

The pair had headed back to floor 47. Luke lead Nagi to the dungeon, knowing where it was located. He had kept the dungeon in mind, in case Luna ever died. Speaking of the feathered little dragon, it was sitting on its tamer`s head. As the two of them crossed the bridge leading to the dungeon, Nagi stopped to admire the scenery. In front of them, was a path of red bricks in a field of flowers. While the flowers had been seen many times on floor 47, the beauty of the scene was not lost on the brown haired spear user.

"So pretty" she awed. Luke smiled at his friend.

"It really is" he agreed. "Still, we need to get going."

"Yeah, I guess" Nagi said. They then walked towards the path. As they did, they discovered just how peaceful the dungeon seemed. The scenery, combined with the fresh breeze, gave the dungeon a very calming atmosphere. However, that atmosphere was soon broken. As Luke took another step forward, a trap activated, making the bricks underneath him go purple.

"What the-" before he could finish his sentence, a large purple sea anemone, called **«Land Anemone»** , rose from the ground. It`s pink tentacles wrapped around the green haired boy.

"Hang on Luke!" Nagi called out. She pulled her spear off her back. Twirling it around, she activated a sword skill and her weapon glowed red. Dashing towards the creature, she performed a three stab combo. The Anemone screeched in pain as it`s HP dropped to zero and exploded into blue polygon fragments. " _Well that was easy_ " Nagi thought, as her green haired friend fell to the ground.

"Thanks Nagi" Luke said, as he rubbed his head while getting up.

"No problem" Nagi said.

"Wait, where`s Luna?" Luke asked, looking around frantically. Nagi did as well, not seeing the tamed dragon anywhere.

"D-Do you think…?" Nagi asked, not sure how to ask. However, Luke felt something land on his head. He turned his gaze upwards and found Luna looking back at him.

"Way to give me a heart attack" the green haired boy sighed. Luna only tilted it`s head to side, making Nagi chuckle lightly. "Let`s just get going" Luke said annoyed.

"Sure thing" Nagi nodded and the duo continued into the dungeon.

* * *

As they continued on walking along the path, they took down any enemy they came across. Most the enemies were, as they expected, plant themed. However, they were not very hard to take down.

Nagi stretched, letting out a sigh. "Man, I knew you said these enemies weren`t very though, but I expected them to be harder than this" she stated.

"I did to" Luke agreed. "Though I`m not complaining much, it makes leveling up easier after all" he added.

"True enough" Nagi shrugged. Luna let out a screech, as if warning them of something. Nagi looked behind the little blue dragon, only to see a giant plant monster ready to eat the green haired boy. "LOOK OUT!" she called out. Before Luke could respond, Nagi tackled him to the ground, avoiding the bite of the creature.

"What the heck Nagi?" Luke asked. The growl of a creature behind him was given in response. He turned around to see a giant blue venus fly trap, named **« Giant Venus Fly trap»**. "Okay, never mind" he said. The pair quickly got off the ground and pulled out their weapons.

"That was way too close" Nagi said.

"Y-Yeah" Luke stuttered, somewhat shaken by the fact that he was nearly eaten. Luna simply growled at the plant creature. The petal of the fly trap then lunged at Nagi, preparing to swallow the brown haired spear user. As it was about to swallow her, Nagi used her spear to hold its mouth open.

"I`ll keep it occupied while you take it down!" she called out. Luke nodded before dashing underneath the plant creature. Activating a sword skill, his sword glowed red as he cut through the stern of the petal. It screamed in pain before it shattered into blue polygon fragments.

"That takes care of that" Luke stated, sheathing his sword. He walked over and helped Nagi off the ground. After giving a quick "thanks", the brunette picked up her spear and put it on her back.

"I think we can safely call it quits for now" she stated.

"Yeah" Luke nodded in agreement. "I don`t think we`ll get much more out of this place." The duo then walked back the way they came, exiting the Hill of Memories. As they walked through fields of flowers, Nagi felt her stomach growl.

"I guess I`m kinda hungry" the brown haired spear user admitted with an embarrassed smile.

"Well, we did head out train without eating anything first" Luke pointed out. Nagi could not do anything except nod in agreement. After finding a bench to sit on, Nagi sat down while Luke kept standing. "I`ll go find us something to eat, you just stay here" he said.

"You sure? I can go get instead if you want" Nagi suggested.

"No, it`s fine" Luke assured her, before picking Luna off his head. "Now Luna, I want you to stay with Nagi for a bit" he told the dragon. Nagi looked at him in surprise, while Luna screeched in protest. "It`s okay, I won`t be gone long" Luke assured it. Luna simply hung it`s head low, before flying over to Nagi and sitting on her shoulder.

"Don`t you worry Luke, I`ll take good care of it" the brunette stated with confidence.

"Right, thanks, Nagi" the green haired boy nodded before walking off to find something to eat. After he had disappeared for her view, Nagi looked around her, seeing many male and female player pairs. Some of them were just talking, while others walked hand in hand.

" _Seems like this place is popular for couples_ " Nagi mentally noted. She then looked towards the sky. " _Big bro, I hope you`re alright_ " she hoped. Sensing the girl`s worries, Luna nuzzled its head into her cheek. "H-Hey, cut that out" Nagi giggled. She then patted the blue little dragon on the head, causing it to growl happily. "Luke is lucky to have someone like you" Nagi stated.

A few hours later, Luke arrived. Luna noticed and happily flew over to its tamer. After exchanging a quick smile, the little dragon sat on top the green haired boy`s head. Nagi found herself lightly chuckling at the display.

" _It`s like a little kid seeing their parent again after a while_ " she mentally noted. Luke sat down next to her, pulling two items out of his inventory. He handed the brunette one of them, the object in question being a bowl filled with salad.

"It was all I could find, though I figured you wouldn`t mind something different" he said apologetically.

"Don`t worry, it`s fine" Nagi assured the green haired dragon tamer, before digging into her bowl. Luke smiled before doing the same. As the duo happily ate, Luna was left to simply stare at the scenery around it. Several flower pedals of varying colors were carried along by a gust of wind. However, its staring was interrupted by Luke, and Nagi, standing up.

"Well, let`s get going" Luke said.

"Agreed" Nagi nodded. With that, the duo walked off to find their destination.

* * *

After asking around, they found out the location of the KoB`s headquarters. A small house in a countryside village of floor 39. As usual, they entered and asked for help. Unfortunately, the responses were no different then before. Most them were, "Sorry, but I`m too busy." Crestfallen, the pair left.

Now they were walking through a town on the same floor, their heads hanging low.

"Looks like we were wrong, **again**!" Nagi sighed, putting emphasis on the last word. Luke simply sighed in agreement.

"I guess we should`ve seen it coming" he stated.

"Why must our luck be the worst?" Nagi whined. Not seeing where she was going, the brunette bumped into someone in front of her. "Sorry" she mumbled.

"It`s fine, I didn`t see where I was going" a male voice stated. Nagi looked up and saw none other than Saki. However, he was wearing different coat to the one he wore usually.

" _Hm, this guy seems familiar_ " Nagi mentally noted.

"Can I help you?" Saki asked, ignoring the silence he received from the young girl.

"We could use some help looking for someone" Luke replied, walking towards the white haired teen.

"We`re looking for my big bro," Nagi continued. "but everyone is too busy to help."

"Then I`ll lend you a hand" Saki said.

"Really?" Nagi asked, looking hopefully at him.

"If you`ll let me" Saki simply replied.

"Alright, thank you so much!" Nagi exclaimed happily. Luke smiled at his friend.

"What`s he like?" Saki asked. Nagi and Luke glanced at each other, unsure how to answer.

"He`s kind, cool, but can be thick headed" Nagi replied.

"That`s not much to go on" Saki bluntly stated.

"Well I`m not telling you anymore!" Nagi retorted.

"Fair enough" Saki said.

"Anyway, we should get going" Luke suggested.

"Right, where should we head?" Nagi asked.

"Based on what you know, what sounds like the best place?" Saki asked back.

"Hm…" Nagi put a hand to her chin in thought. Luke looked at in concern, while Saki simply remained silent. After some thinking, Nagi snapped her fingers. "Right, he would want to search for people to help" she stated.

"Then a forest or a town would be the best places to go" Saki said.

"We`ve already look through a few towns, so let`s check out the forest outside of town" Luke said.

"Sounds good" Nagi nodded. She then dashed off to the town`s exit, Luke following suit.

" _Well, she`s rather reckless. I should keep an eye on her_ " Saki thought, before following the young duo.

 **A/N: And so, the search continues. Still, now they finally have some help. Will they find Nagi`s brother? Stay tuned for the next chapter to find out. Hope you enjoyed, thank you all for reading and I will see you next time. Have a great day guys.**


	13. Chapter 13: Reunion part II

**A/N: Disclaimer, I own nothing except my OCs. Also, just in case anyone didn 't know, there is a SAO movie coming out. It is called Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale and is coming out in 2017. I assume most of you knew about this, but just in case you didn't, there you go.**

As the trio walked towards the nearest forest, Luke and Saki introduced each other while Nagi walked ahead. She took a few quick glances at the white haired teen. Somehow, he seemed familiar, but she couldn 't quite tell how.

"I see you have tamed a dragon" Saki stated, pointing towards Luna on Luke 's shoulder.

"Right, its name is Luna" Luke responded. "It 's a lot easier to tame than one would think."

"I see" Saki noted, though his expression remained unchanged.

"So, any specific reason you decided to help us?" Luke asked.

"Not really" was Saki 's simple answer. "I just figured you could use a hand in your search."

"Very well" Luke said, turning back towards the road. As they entered the forest, Nagi had begun to slow down. Looking around, they noticed that the tree trunks were rather thick. Suddenly, Saki heard the sound of a snapping twig.

"Don 't move" he said, stepping in front of the young pair and putting his hand on his katana. Luna then began glaring and growling in the direction of the noise.

"What 's wrong with Luna?" Nagi asked. As if responding to her question, an enemy jumped out from behind the trees. However, Luke blocked the attack with his shield, saving his brown haired friend. He then pushed the enemy back. "Nice save" Nagi complimented.

"No problem" Luke said. The enemy he blocked the attack of, was a green dwarf wearing a dark helmet with horns and brown warm clothing wielding a mace. Above it read **«Forest Dwarf»** , its name. As it got up, other dwarfs came out of the bushes, wielding axes and maces.

"Keep your guard up" Saki called out, pulling out his weapon. Luke and Nagi quickly did the same. One of dwarfs jumped Saki, attempting to cut his head off with its axe. However, the tactician simply side stepped to dodge the attack. He then slashed it twice across the back, defeating the enemy and making it explode in blue polygon fragments.

" _Wow, he 's strong_ " Nagi thought in awe. She was interrupted by a dwarf knocking her into a tree.

"Nagi!" Luke yelled in concern. Luna called out to him, causing him to notice a pair of forest dwarfs swinging their weapons at him. He blocked the two strikes, however, the force of the blows knocked him back and made him lose some HP. "Luna, go help Nagi" he commanded his dragon. Giving a growl in agreement, Luna flew over to the brown haired girl. With a shot of blue energy, Nagi recovered some HP.

"Thanks Luna" Nagi smiled. Luna growled happily, satisfied with its help.

" _So, the dragon can heal_ " Saki mentally mused. Nagi dashed over to Luke to lend him a hand. One of the dwarfs charged the pair. Luke countered by leaping forward and driving his sword through the creature. It let out a cry of pain, alerting the other dwarf to take action.

"Oh no you don 't!" Nagi exclaimed as she ran forward before leaping into the air. Diving towards the mace wielding foe, Nagi smacked it in the head with her spear. The dwarf lost some HP. Over on Saki 's end, he finished off the dwarf that Luke had weakened. Luke ran over to Nagi and blocked an attack from the dwarf that she damaged.

"Switch" Luke yelled, hopping backwards. Nagi charged at the enemy and drove her spear through it. The dwarfs HP his zero, making it explode into blue polygon fragments.

"That takes care of them" Nagi said triumphantly. Luna took time to heal both players. Suddenly, Luna began glaring at a silhouette in between the trees with a growl.

"What 's wrong Luna?" Luke asked.

"Looks like we got company" Saki muttered in response. In the blink of an eye, another figure jumped out of some nearby bushes. Attempting to strike Saki, they swung their weapon downward. However, the white haired teen simply jumped sideways to avoid the attack. He noticed a mark on their right shoulder. "Laughing coffin" Saki growled.

"Wait, as in the murder guild?" Luke asked.

"Precisely" a voice answered. Out from the trees came a figure wearing a dark green tunic, a hood, black boots and carried a dagger type weapon. By the voice, they could tell it was a female.

"I assume you 're the leader?" Saki asked.

"You are correct" the female replied. More players came out from behind her. "Now, come along quietly and no one will get hurt" she said.

"Like we would fall for that kind of bluff" Saki retorted.

"So be it" the leader said. Other players came out from behind her. Shaking like a leaf, Luke began backing off in fear. However, he felt a hand grasp his, making him look to his left. Nagi was there, giving him a reassuring smile.

"Don 't worry, it 'll be fine" she assured him.

"R-Right" Luke gave a nervous nod. Saki backed up towards the young duo, holding something behind his back.

"What do you think you are doing?" the leader questioned before dashing towards Saki.

"Catch" Saki whispered, tossing the items towards Luke and Nagi, before blocking the attack with his katana. He then kicked the player in the stomach, knocking her into a tree. He then swiftly pulled out a teleport crystal, just like the ones he had given Luke and Nagi. "Now!" Saki called out.

"Teleport!" the three players yelled simultaneously and were whisked in a flash of light.

"Damn, they got away" the leader muttered. " _He could become a threat in the future_ " she thought. "Let 's get moving" she called out.

* * *

Having escaped the PK 'rs, the trio sat down on a nearby unoccupied bench.

"That was scary" Nagi sighed in relief.

"N-No kidding" Luke agreed. "Nice quick thinking, Saki" Luna looked just as relieved, and tired, as its tamer. Saki nodded in response.

"That was too close" he stated. The tactician then glanced over at Nagi. " _The way she comforted him, could she… No its probably just a coincidence_ " he mentally mused.

"So, where do we go now?" Luke asked.

"If he wanted to help people, it 's easy to assume he would be part of the front lines" Saki replied.

"True" Luke agreed, giving Luna another peanut.

"Yeah, but we already tried that and it didn 't work" Nagi pointed out.

"That 's…also true" Luke admitted, rubbing the back of his head.

"Have you got any better ideas?" Saki asked.

"No but…" Nagi lowered her gaze to the ground. Suddenly, she heard a quiet, but sudden noise. "Hey, did you guys hear that?" she asked.

"I didn 't hear anything" Saki replied.

"Me neither" Luke shook his head.

"Try harder" Nagi said. Saki strained his ears, trying to pick up any low noises. Sure enough, he soon heard a low unrecognizable noise.

"Sounds like it`s close" he stated.

"Maybe it`s coming from that alleyway" Luke suggested, pointing to an alley behind.

"I`m sure of it, let 's go!" Nagi exclaimed before dashing of towards said alley.

"Wait for us" Luke called out, running after the brown haired spear wielder. Saki simply shook his head before following the young duo.

After walking for a few minutes, they heard the noise much more clearly.

"Sounds like someone`s crying" Luke stated.

"We should help them" Nagi said. She began running of again, but was stopped by Saki grabbing her arm. ¨

"This is obviously a trap" he said.

"We don`t know that for sure" Nagi argued.

"Even so, you`d willingly walk straight in there?" Saki asked.

"Yea, I can`t just ignore a call for help" Nagi nodded with determination. Saki sighed before letting go of her arm.

"…Fine, but I`m going with you" Saki stated.

"Okay" Nagi nodded.

"You have no objections right?" Saki asked Luke.

"I have no problems" the green haired male replied. With a nod, the trio followed the sobbing-like sound. The more they walked, the louder and clearer the sound got. Eventually, they got to a dead end where a little girl was sitting, crying all the while. She had blonde hair and green eyes, though they were slightly red due to her crying. Based on her equipment, she seemed to be a low level. Nagi and Luke approached her.

"Hey, what`s the matter?" Nagi asked, leaning down to the girl`s height. The girl stopped sobbing and looked up at the three players.

"Who are you guys?" she asked, her voice still hoarse.

"Just some people who want to help" Saki replied.

"What happened?" Luke asked. The girl looked at the ground.

"I got separated from my mommy in a crowd. I tried searching, but I couldn`t find her" she then hugged her legs close to her chest. "I thought maybe she had gone to one of these. So searched them but…" tears began to reenter her eyes. Saki averted his gaze while Luke looked sadly at the girl.

"Don`t worry, we`ll help you find her" Nagi said, putting a hand on the girl`s shoulder.

"Really?" her face lit up.

"Sure" Nagi smiled reassuringly.

"Thanks a bunch!" the girl exclaimed happily, wiping away her tears. Luke stretched out his hand, helping her up on her feet.

"So what`s your name?" he asked.

"Mai" she replied.

"Mai, what does your mother look like?" Luke asked.

"She is as tall as him" Mai said, pointing at Saki. "She has the same hair that I do and… Oh! She has a cool sword" she added.

"Well, let`s get to searching" Nagi exclaimed. Mai nodded and began walking alongside Luke and Nagi.

"So, what are your names?" Mai asked.

"I`m Luke, she`s Nagi and he`s Saki" Luke replied, introducing them to the young girl.

" _Looks like we`ll be slightly sidetracked. Not a huge issue though_ " Saki thought before following the young trio.

As they walked out of the alley, they noticed that the streets had become more crowded.

"Well, this makes things harder" Saki stated. He then felt something tugging at his sleeve. Looking down, he saw Mai looking up at him.

"Can I sit on your shoulders?" she innocently asked.

"Why?" Saki asked back.

"That way I can spot mommy easier" Mai replied. Saki took another look at the crowd, before looking back at the young blonde girl.

"Alright" he said, bending over. Mai, with the help of Luke, sat on his shoulders. Saki rose back up, holding her legs so she wouldn`t fall off. "Better?" Saki asked.

"Yeah" Mai replied. She scouted the area, looking for a familiar face. "Mommy!" she called out. No response was given, much to her dismay. "Mommy!" she called out again. Still no response.

"Mai`s mother! We found your daughter!" Nagi called out. She didn't receive any response either.

" _This might take a while_ " Luke thought. After some more scouting, Mai eventually spotted a familiar face.

"Over there that`s her!" she exclaimed, pointing towards the woman in question. She had blonde hair similar to Mai and had a sword with a blue hilt on her back.

"Then let`s go" Luke said, helping Mai of Saki`s shoulders before walking towards the woman. They maneuvered through the crowd, making sure not to get separated.

"Mommy!" Mai cried, running towards her mother.

"Mai!" the woman cried as she embraced her daughter.

"I-I was s-so scared" Mai sobbed, hugging her mother tightly. She rubbed her daughter`s back soothingly. After a few minutes, she stopped crying.

"I`m so glad you`re okay sweetheart" her mother said. She then finally the trio of players watching the reunion.

"Glad to see she was right" Nagi smiled.

"Did you three help her?" Mai`s mother asked.

"Yes" Luke replied.

"I don`t know how to thank you" she smiled, slightly guilty.

"Just seeing you back together is enough for us" Nagi replied in an assuring tone.

"That won`t do" Mai pouted. "We`ve gotta give you something!"

"I agree" Mai`s mother said. Luke and Nagi shared a look before shrugging, not knowing what to say.

"There is one thing you can do" Saki spoke up.

To repay the trio`s kindness, Mai`s mother, named Grace, bought them lunch. Mai had also bought some for herself.

"Thanks for the lunch" Luke said, taking a bite of his sandwich.

"It is the least I could do to repay you" Grace retorted.

"Can I feed your dragon?" Mai asked.

"Well, sure" Luke shrugged. He handed the young blonde girl a peanut, which she then tried to feed to the dragon on Luke`s head.

"Come on, say ah" Mai requested. Despite her request, Luna simply turned its head away. "What!" Mai exclaimed.

"Oh dear, looks like it won`t let her feed it" Grace stated.

"Maybe it will only accept food from its tamer" Nagi suggested.

"That is very possible" Grace agreed.

"No fair" Mai pouted, sitting back in her chair.

"Don`t worry, it`s not your fault" Luke said, patting Mai`s head before feeding the little dragon. The rest of the lunch went by quietly. After a few minutes, Mai and Grace had finished their lunches.

"We will be leaving now" Grace bowed.

"Let`s play together sometime" Mai said happily.

"Sure thing Mai" Nagi smiled.

"Take care now" Luke said.

"Be more careful next time" Saki warned.

"Goodbye" Grace waved. Her daughter did the same.

"Bye!" Nagi called back as the trio waved back. The mother daughter pair walked away, holding hands.

"I hope that we see them again" Luke stated.

"Me too" Nagi agreed.

"You can simply give them a call you know" Saki pointed out.

"We know that" Nagi stated. "Well, if we`re done here, let`s keep going" she said with a stretch.

"Not so fast" Saki said.

"What now?" Nagi asked.

"I have another question for you" Saki replied.

"Oh, then fire away" Nagi said. "Just know, anything too personal is off limits" she added with a frown.

"Alright, this may seem random" Saki stated. "Does your brother like playing video games?" he asked. Nagi blinked twice.

"Uh, yeah. If he didn`t he wouldn`t be playing this game" she stated matter-of-factly.

" _Not really, but whatever_ " Saki thought. Suddenly, Nagi snapped her fingers, making Luna jump slightly.

"That`s it!" she exclaimed.

"Remember something?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, where I`ve seen him before" Nagi replied, pointing at Saki. Said white haired teen remained unfazed. "I remember seeing you play a game with him once" Nagi said. This got Saki`s attention.

"Then I may just know who he is" he said.

"Really?" Nagi asked extremely hopeful.

"Yes, just follow me" Saki replied, a small smile on his face.

"Yes!" Nagi happily exclaimed, jumping high into the air.

"This is great Nagi" Luke smiled, happy for his friend.

"Now let`s get going" Saki said.

"Yes sir" the young duo nodded. With new excitement in their steps, Nagi and Luke followed Saki towards the teleport gate.

* * *

After using the teleport gate, they arrived on floor 45. The Black Fang had changed location for their headquarters shortly after reaching the floor. Walking out of the main town, they followed a path going along a forest. Along the way, Luke and Nagi were chatting excitingly.

"I can`t wait to see big bro again!" Nagi exclaimed.

"I can see why" Luke said, smiling at the brown haired girl. "Still, he said he "may" know where he is" he stated.

"Can`t I be happy for a change?" Nagi whined.

"Of course you can, I`m just saying" Luke cleared up. Ahead of them, Saki continued walking, though at the same pace as the young duo.

"How long until we`re there?" Nagi asked.

"A few more minutes" Saki simply replied. Nagi gave a sigh at the respond. "Relax, it`s not far" Saki stated. After a few more minutes, they arrived at a mansion-like building. It currently served as the new headquarters for the Black Fang.

"Is this it?" Luke asked.

"Yes" Saki simply replied.

" _This is it, my brother could be right here_ " Nagi thought, clenching her fist. The trio walked up the steps, with Saki opening the door.

"Welcome back" a familiar voice called out. As Nagi and Luke stepped inside, they saw a pair around Saki`s age. The first one was a girl with short red hair and red eyes. The other one was a blue haired boy Nagi was all too familiar with. Her eyes widened once she saw him.

"Big bro?" she said weakly. The boy looked at her, rather confused.

"Natalie?" he asked. At those words, the brown haired girl sprinted towards him, tears running down her face.

"BIG BROTHER!" she cried, embracing him. The boy rubbed her back for comfort, still confused.

"You know her Kaito?" the redhead asked.

"Yeah, very well in fact" Kaito replied. He then looked up at Saki, looking for an answer.

"I`ll explain later" the white haired teen replied. After a few more minutes, Nagi calmed down and stopped crying. Kaito kneeled down, looking at Nagi. He then took a deep breath.

"Where the hell have you been?" he loudly asked, causing the others in the entrance to jump slightly. "Why didn`t you tell me about this?"

"I just wanted to play a game with you again" Nagi replied.

"You should`ve come to me IMIDIENTLY after the announcement!" Kaito said angrily.

"We left after that same announcement. Even if she went looking for, it was unlikely" Saki pointed out.

"…Yeah, you`re right" Kaito sighed. "Have you really been looking for me all this time?" he asked. Nagi gave a simple nod. "I see." He then glanced towards Luke. "And who`s that?" Kaito asked.

"I-I`m Luke, a f-friend of Nagi" Luke replied, slightly nervous.

"Maybe we should continue this somewhere that isn`t the entrance" Anna suggested.

"Sounds good" Kaito nodded. They moved towards the living room, taking the two young players with them. Sam was already in the living room, sitting in a chair. Kaito took a seat next to his sister, who sat down on the couch next to Luke. Anna and Saki meanwhile, sat down in the other two chairs.

"So first, introductions are in order" Saki said. "You already know me and Kaito, so that just leaves the other two."

"I`m Samson, but please call me Sam" Sam said.

"Name`s Anna, nice to meet you" Anna smiled.

"My name is Nagi, this guy`s little sister, and that`s my friend Luke" Nagi said, pointing to the green haired boy beside her.

"I-It`s nice to meet you" Luke stuttered.

"You never told us you had a sister Kaito" Sam stated.

"Yeah, well I didn`t know she was even playing this game" Kaito admitted, rubbing the back of his head. "Now that I do, there`s no way she`s NOT joining us" he said with a smile.

"We don`t get a say in this?" Anna asked.

"Don`t bother" Saki said, catching the attention of Anna and Sam. "He can be rather stubborn".

"Good to know" Anna stated. "I was never going to object, though".

"Me neither" Sam echoed.

"What about you Luke? Would you like to join to?" Saki asked.

"Oh, um" Luke muttered.

"You don`t have to if you don`t want to" Kaito assured. Luke looked at his feet, trying to come up with an answer.

"Is that a feathered little dragon on your shoulder?" Sam asked.

"Y-Yeah, its name is Luna" Luke replied.

"I see" Sam noted. Luke went back to thinking, looking at the floor. The others remained silent, patiently waiting for a response. He looked over at Nagi, who had a concerned expression. Luke then let out a sigh.

"I-I`ll join to" he said. The others looked at him with smiles on their faces.

"Great, welcome to the team" Kaito beamed. He then snapped his fingers. "Oh, before I forget. Thanks for helping my sister" he bowed.

"It w-was no b-big deal" Luke stuttered.

"Two new members in one day, sweet" Anna said happily.

"It is getting late, we should get some sleep" Sam stated.

"Yeah, we`ll worry about the rest tomorrow" Kaito said.

"Sounds good" Saki agreed. Kaito grabbed his sister`s hand.

"Come on, let`s find you a bed" he smiled.

"Sure" Nagi smiled back. The two then walked off, with the others soon following. Luke and Nagi were given ther own bedroom. Picking the bedroom next to his, he pulled the covers over her.

"Sleep well" he whispered, gently rubbing her head. He exited the bedroom, entering his own. Flopping onto his bed, Kaito stared up at the celling. " _Man, what a day_ " with that thought, he drifted off to sleep.

 **A/N: Man, this was a long one, but still fun. Finally, Nagi had reunited with her brother. Did you guess correctly? Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter. I`ll see you guys next time.**


	14. Chapter 14: Bonding time

**A/N: I own nothing except this story and my OC`s. All rights go to their respective owners.**

The day after Luke and Nagi had joined, they went to a clothing shop with Anna and Kaito. While Kaito had, in his own words, "no fashion sense", he wanted to make sure his sister would be okay.

They had already picked out an outfit for Luke. He now wore a purple shirt underneath body armor, black pants, black plated shoes and brown fingerless gloves. His shield was still on his arm and he now also had a headband.

The four of them were now in another store, searching for clothes for Nagi.

Luke and Kaito sat on a bench outside the changing room. Luna was sitting on Luke`s head.

"How long have they been in there?" Kaito asked.

"Two minutes maybe" Luke replied.

"Feels like it`s been longer" Kaito said aloud. As he said that, Nagi and Anna exited the changing room. Nagi was now wearing a black and purple combat dress with a purple miniskirt at the end, a lightweight breast plate, purple leggings and black armored shoes.

"Ta-dah! How do I look?" Nagi asked with a twirl.

"You look pretty cute" Kaito replied with a smile. Nagi happily giggled.

"Not bad choices, huh" Anna proclaimed proudly.

"Not bad at all" Kaito agreed.

"Do you like it Nagi?" Luke asked.

"I love it!" the brown haired girl happily replied. Luna gave a happy screech. "What did it say?" Nagi asked.

"It likes the outfit to" Luke replied.

"Aw, thanks Luna" Nagi smiled at the little dragon.

"Now then, we`ve found outfits for both of them" Anna stated.

"Well, if that was all we can leave be leaving now" Kaito stated before walking off.

"Wait!" Nagi called out, stopping her brother in his tracks. "I can`t pay for all this by myself" she said.

"Right, I guess I`ll have to pay" Kaito sighed with a sad smile.

"Relax, you can make that money back by questing" Anna pointed out. Kaito simply shrugged, walking towards the counter with his sister. Luke and Anna followed them shortly after.

"You seem a lot less nervous, why`s that?" Anna asked the green haired boy.

"Well, I get nervous around people… outside my age group" Luke replied as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"I see" Anna noted. "I`ll be going somewhere on my own. Just go on ahead".

"Okay" Luke nodded. The redhead then left the group, walking in a different direction.

* * *

Back at the headquarters, they showed of the new outfits to Saki and Sam. Neither had anything negative to say about either outfits. Whether they meant it or simply tried to avoid Anna`s anger, no one was sure. Kaito and Nagi then went up to the older brother`s room.

"So, what were you doing before now?" Kaito asked.

"Mostly looking for you" Nagi replied. "Sadly, most people didn`t bother helping. Luke was one of the few people who did help. What about you?" she asked.

"Well, the biggest thing was me and Saki teaming up with Sam and Anna" Kaito replied. "Other than that, not much interesting stuff happened". He then gave her a flick on the forehead.

"Hey, what was that for?" Nagi asked in annoyance.

"That was for not telling me about you planning to play this game" Kaito simply replied. "Man, Dad must be worried sick by now" he sighed.

"Yeah, I hope that he is okay" Nagi said worried. "He`s all alone now

"I wonder which would worry him more, the fact that we were separated for a year or that you were hanging out with a boy" Kaito teased, nudging his sister in the side.

"Not funny!" Nagi exclaimed annoyed while shoving him.

"I`m joking Natalie" Kaito laughed. Nagi pouted at him with her arms crossed.

"You`re the worst" she said.

"Love you too sis" Kaito smiled. He then lightly ruffled her hair. "Seriously though, I`m glad you`re alive" he said sincerely.

"Me too" Nagi said in a low whisper, though her brother still heard her. The two siblings simply sat there with smiles on their faces, enjoying each other's presence.

* * *

In the living room of the building, Sam was sitting in a chair while Luke sat on the couch. Luna was on the table, it`s gaze going back and forth between its tamer and his new ally.

"How difficult was it for you to tame your dragon?" Sam asked.

"Not that hard actually" Luke honestly replied. "Even I thought it would be harder."

"I see" Sam noted. "I have heard of beasts being tames, but never seen one for myself. Are you acquainted with a girl named Silica perchance?"

"I have met her a couple of times" the green haired boy replied.

"She is quite famous for being the youngest known beast tamer in the game" Sam noted. "Tell me something, would you trade your dragon for anything?" At this question, Luna gave the blonde swordsman a curious look. Luke simply raised an eyebrow at him. "T-Theoretically of course" Sam clarified.

"Not really" Luke shook his head. Sam stared at the green haired boy, surprised at his answer.

"Are you sure?" Sam asked.

"Definitely" Luke replied. "Luna is like family to me" he smiled. The feathered little dragon made a happy screech before flying into its tamer`s arms. It then nuzzled Luke`s cheek. This made the young tamer giggle.

" _They seem to have a close bond_ " Sam mentally noted. He then rose from his chair. "I have some things to discuss with our leader, please excuse me" he bowed before exiting the room.

 **A/N: This chapter was mainly for character interaction. Hope you enjoyed it all the same. See you all next year. Have a nice day/night/evening.**


	15. Chapter 15: Christmas celibrations

**A/N: I own nothing except my Oc`s. All rights go to their respective owners.**

The months had passed by in the blink of an eye for the players of Sword Art Online. Before anyone knew it, a year had passed. Many players had ignored the holidays for the first year. Most of them were still getting used to the death game, so they didn`t have the time to celebrate. However, by the time Christmas approached the second time, many players had planned to enjoy it.

The Black Fang also wanted to enjoy Christmas. Saki was sitting at the table in the living room of their headquarters. His head was leaning on his hands, as he was deep in thought. Many thoughts were swirling inside his head, including ones about clearing the game, Christmas, his friends and the dead players.

"Knock knock, anyone home?" a voice asked, bringing the white haired tactician out of his thoughts. He turned towards the voice, seeing Kaito with Anna holding his hand.

"I see the lovebirds have returned" Saki stated. Anna frowned at the nickname, while Kaito looked away with a blush. However, they sat down on the couch on the right side of the table regardless.

"It`s nice to finally be done buying presents" Anna said, leaning back in the couch.

"You said it" the blue haired axe wielder agreed with a smile.

"There are a few things that still remain" Saki simply.

"What are you-" Anna started, before face palming in realization. "Crap, I forgot about decorations" she said.

"Relax, I can go get them for you" Saki said. "I needed to go out anyway" he added.

"Really, thanks Saki! You`re a life saver!" Anna exhaled in relief.

"No problem" Saki replied. "Anyway, I should get going."

"Good luck, you only have one more day" Kaito warned.

"As if I didn`t know that" Saki deadpanned, earning a chuckle from Kaito. He then exited the room, leaving the pair all to themselves. Anna streched with a sigh.

"Man I`m tired" she stated. Kaito didn`t respond, instead he simply stared out of a window. "Kaito, are you all right?" Anna asked, shaking her friend lightly.

"I`m fine, just homesick is all" Kaito replied with a sad smile. Anna simply lowered her gaze to the floor.

"Same" she responded quietly, though Kaito still heard her. "I miss Mom`s cooking and Dad`s silly grin. It reminds me that we are **still** stuck, even after a damn year!" her hands curled themselves into fits. "It`s not fair" she stated, her hands shaking.

"I would be lying if I didn`t agree with you" Kaito stated, catching Anna`s attention. "Still, it`s not all bad" he put his hand on hers. "I`ve met a lot of great people, including you" he smiled.

"Y-Yeah" Anna stuttered, smiling with a blush. "Plus, you also have Nagi now" she added.

"Right" Kaito agreed.

"It`s funny how things have worked out" Anna chuckled.

"Life can be funny like that" Kaito smiled. As the two friends shared a laugh, the door creaked open, revealing Nagi standing there.

"Big bro, can you help me with something?" she asked.

"Sure, I`ll be there" Kaito replied, giving Anna a quick nod. He then went over to the door and followed his sister upstairs.

* * *

The main town of floor 49, Myujen, was covered in snow. Many houses were decorated with various lights, mostly garlands. There was also a Christmas tree in the middle of the town that was also decorated.

As Saki was wandering through the town, he noticed several players happily chatting. " _It is both nice and unsettling to see all these people enjoying themselves_ " the tactician mentally noted. Entering a store, Saki was greeted by a male NPC at the counter.

"How can I help you?" he asked. Saki simply looked around. One item in particular caught his attention.

"How much does that cost?" Saki asked, pointing at the item. The NPC turned towards it.

"Normally it would be 200 000 col, however, since its Christmas soon, it now costs only 20 000 col" he replied.

" _That`s cheaper than most items I`ve seen so far_ " Saki mentally noted. "I`ll take it" he told the NPC.

"Would you like it gift wrapped?" he asked. The white haired teen nodded in response. The store clerk got the item off the shelf and wrapped it in red paper with white dots, using red and green striped wrapping. "That will be 20 000 col please" the NPC said. Saki gave him the payment. "Thank you very much" the store clerk bowed. Taking the gift, Saki nodded before leaving.

"One down, five more to go" Saki noted, putting the gift into his inventory. "This is going to take a while" he sighed.

* * *

Christmas had finally arrived. Like most players, the Black Fang were celebrating. Their headquarters had been decorated for the occasion. Many lights had been hung up around the place. Even the Christmas tree they had brought in had been decorated. A bunch of presents were lying underneath the tree. Even the members themselves had changed their outfits to fit the holiday. They were now wearing more casual clothes, mostly red and white ones.

At the moment, they were sitting around the table, eating food that Nagi and Anna had prepared. The siblings were seated next to each other, while Luke sat on Nagi`s right, Sam sat next to him, Saki sat across him and Anna sat on Saki`s left.

"Man, this is delicious" Kaito said with a satisfactory sigh.

"I agree" Saki stated. "Anna does make pretty good food".

"Stop it, you`re gonna make me blush" Anna joked.

"It is true" Sam agreed.

"Well, SOMEONE needs to know how to do something besides fighting" Anna stated. The others laughed at the statement.

"So can we go open our presents now?" Nagi asked eagerly.

"Sure I guess" Kaito shrugged. Nagi hopped off her chair and walked towards the Christmas tree.

"She is very eager it seems" Sam noted.

"Can`t blame her" Anna said. "Not many people I know don`t look forward to opening presents".

" _Wow, that is a lot of presents_ " Saki thought while looking at the bunch underneath the tree.

"Something wrong Saki?" Sam asked the white haired guild leader.

"Just thinking is all" Saki simply replied. Sam tilted his head lightly before following the others towards the living room.

Presents were picked out at random, to make things more suspenseful. So far, Sam, Kaito and Nagi had all gotten two presents each.

"The next one is for Luke from Sam" Anna said, handing a package to the green haired boy.

"Oh, okay" Luke took the package. He then used his menu to open it. The content in the package was a purple scarf called **«Night Scarf».** "Wow, that`s so cool" Luke said happily.

"I am glad that you like it" Sam smiled.

"Thank you very much" Luke bowed. Even Luna gave a happy growl. While Sam gave a nod, Anna went backto the present pile to pull out another gift.

"Here is one from me for Saki" she said, handing the present over to her white haired friend. Saki silently took the present and opened it. Inside the package was a dark blue double breasted jacket with fur on the hood. "Wow" Saki breathed.

"It keeps you warm and is stylish" Anna quoted with a smirk and a wink.

"Thank you" Saki smiled. Anna then went over to pick one more present.

"The next is…for me from Kaito" she said. She glanced at her blue haired friend, who simply smiled at her. She opened the present and gasped at the contents. It was a pair of blue diamond earrings.

"You like them?" Kaito asked.

"I love them!" Anna happily shouted. "Thank you so much!" she exclaimed while throwing her arms around him in a hug.

"N-No problem" Kaito said with a slight blush.

"I never took you for a ladies man, Kaito" Saki smirked.

"It`s not like that!" Kaito exclaimed while blushing furiously. The others simply laughed at his expense. Even so, he could not help but smile along. The rest of the night was filled with joy and laughter. All six of them could agree that it was the most enjoyable night they had since being tapped in the game.

 **A/N: Hope you all enjoying yourselves, even if you don`t celebrate the holidays. Thank you all for sticking with this story so far, As always, if you have any advice or critisims, feel free to let me know. Merry Christmas, happy holidays and happy new year. See you all next year, for real this time.**


	16. Chapter 16: Unexpected challanges

**A/N: I own nothing except my OCs. All rights go to their respective owners.**

Floor 50 had been cleared, meaning they were now half-way through the game. Despite some panic during the fight, the front lines were once again able to beat the boss with no casualties. Many players rejoiced at being half-way done with the game.

The 51st floor was easier to navigate than the previous one, much to the relief of many. Kaito and Saki were out in the fields fighting a pair of **«Lizardmen»**.They were humanoid lizards with green scales, a long tail and blue eyes. They wore chest plates and had a spiked ball on the end of their tail.

As one of them charged at Saki, he dodged the claw swipe from the enemy. In retaliation, Kaito swung his axe at it. Saki quickly followed up with a strike from his katana. Before Kaito could take another swing at the monster, it jumped back.

"Oh no you don`t" Kaito said as he dashed after it. The lizardman responded by shooting a fireball at the blue haired axe wielder. The attack knocked Kaito back took away a larger than expected portion of his HP. Saki then charged at the lizardman, however the other one struck him in the stomach with the spiked ball on its tail. As he tried to get up, one of the lizardmen tried to strike him from above. Saki rolled to the side to avoid the spiked ball. He then brought his katana over his shoulder, causing it to glow orange. Activating the sword skill **«Reaver»** , he charged the enemy and quickly stabbed it square in the chest. The attack dropped the lizardman`s HP to zero, causing it to explode into polygon fragments.

On Kaito`s end, the lizardman blew some fire at him. Kaito hopped back to gain some distance. He then ran around the stream of fire and struck the enemy with his axe. As it staggered backwards, Saki stabbed the lizardman, lowing its HP into the red. The creature roared at the two friends before leaping into the air.

"Get out of the way!" Saki called out. They both jumped to the side, avoiding the spiked ball smashing into their faces. Taking the chance, Kaito smashed his axe into the creature`s face. This finished of the enemy, causing it to shatter into polygon fragments.

"Man, that was tough" Kaito sighed while wiping his forehead.

"We underestimated these enemies" Saki said while sheathing his katana. "Now we now not to send Luke or Nagi up here" he stated.

"Definitely" Kaito agreed. "Let`s head back, we`ve trained enough for today". Saki nodded and the friends began walking towards the teleport gate.

"Looks like you`re rubbing off on me" Saki said.

"How so?" Kaito asked.

"I`m diving head first into battles like an idiot" Saki replied.

"Hey, I`ve saved people you know" Kaito retorted with a frown.

"And nearly gotten yourself killed, multiple times" Saki added.

"Point taken" Kaito sighed. "Good thing I`m the tank of the team" he added with a smile.

"That is true" Saki agreed.

After a few minutes, they got back to their headquarters. The two friends plopped down on the couch, entering the living room silently.

"You came back early" Anna noted.

"The enemies were tougher than we anticipated" Saki said in response.

"I`d recommend not going there on your own" Kaito said. Saki looked around the room and noticed the absence of their blonde friend.

"Where`s Sam?" he asked.

"He went off to do something" Anna replied.

"He didn`t say what?" Kaito asked.

"Nothing specific" Anna shrugged.

"That does sound like him" Saki noted.

"Yeah, he does that a lot" Kaito agreed.

"Oh, there was one thing I wanted to talk about" Anna said. "Have you guys heard about what the Army has been doing back on the first floor?" she asked.

"I think so" Kaito replied. "I remember someone saying something about them".

"I heard they have been causing trouble there" Saki answered.

"I`ve been thinking of checking it out" Anna stated.

"I see, well let me know if you do" Kaito said. Anna gave a nod in response.

* * *

In Algade, Sam was pacing back and forth in front of an alleyway entrance. As time passed he grew less and less patient. He began pacing back and forth faster. Eventually, he could see Argo approaching.

"Took you long enough" Sam huffed.

"Well, excuse me for having more than one client" Argo sarcastically replied. "Anyway, what did you want to know?" she asked.

"I was wondering you could find any info on this "Venomous Cavern" or whatever it is called" Sam said.

"Hm, that could be tricky" Argo mused. "Alright then, I`ll see what I can get. Meet me back here in a week" the blonde girl told the masked player.

"I see, thank you" Sam politely said.

"By the way, why do you now about this place?" Argo asked.

"It`s for our newest members" Sam replied. Argo nodded in understanding. He then noticed something about her. "What are those markings?" he asked, pointing to the ones on her face.

"Oh these? It`s no big deal" Argo replied. While curious, Sam decided to not push the question further. "See ya around" Argo smirked before leaving via the alleyway. Sam turned to leave as well.

" _A whole week? Must be more difficult than I thought_ " he mentally mused. Walking through the streets of Algade, he was reminded of the towns size. Even when he went different directions, he still found himself thinking, " _Was I not just here?"_ The feeling did not change even after several minutes. Seeing the same buildings and roads, he came to a simple conclusion.

"I`m lost" he said to himself. He ran to his left, only to come across a dead end. Irritated he ran in another direction, only to run into another wall. He sighed in annoyance.

"Excuse me" a young make voice called out. Sam turned toward the voice and saw a male NPC around his age. "Would you happen to be lost?" he asked.

"…Yes" Sam hesitatingly admitted.

"If you walk down this alleyway, then turn right and then walk forward you should reach the main streets" the NPC said, pointing behind him.

"I see, thank you" Sam said gratefully. Following the NPC`s instructions he got back on the path towards the teleport gate. " _Do not talk about this with the others_ " he mentally noted. With that thought, he let the light of the teleport gate take him away.

 **A/N: Well that was fun. I decided to do something slightly different this time. Hope you enjoyed and have an awesome day/evening/night.**


	17. Chapter 17: Going back

**A/N: I own nothing except for my OCs. All rights go to their respective owners.**

The day after Sam got lost in Algade, Saki heard someone knock on the door to his room. Opening the door, he saw his best friend with a troubled expression.

"You`ve seen better days" Saki bluntly stated.

"I need your help man" Kaito said, ignoring his friend`s statement.

"What is it?" Saki asked.

"I`m taking Anna on a date to this nice place I found the other day" Kaito replied. "Unfortunately, that means that I can`t make sure Natalie is safe" he continued. "So, I need to ask you to do that for me."

"Why me specifically?" Saki asked.

"You`re the only person I`ve met so far that I really trust" Kaito replied. "Nothing against Anna or Sam, but I`ve known you for much longer" the blue haired axe wielder stated.

"Makes sense" Saki said. "Alright then, I have nothing better to do anyways" he said.

"Great, thanks man" Kaito smiled. "Now if you`ll excuse me, I need get ready" he then left his best friend`s room. Kaito told his little sister about the deal between the two best friends. Her reaction however, was not what he expected.

"You didn`t talk to me about this first?" Nagi asked, obviously annoyed.

"I assumed it would be fine" Kaito said in defence.

"I don`t want a babysitter!" Nagi exclaimed.

"It`s for your safety" Kaito retorted.

"I can handle myself" Nagi said.

"When you`re locked in a room with a powerful boss?" Kaito asked with his arms crossed. Nagi opened her mouth to retort, but nothing came to mind. "I thought so" Kaito stated. "Look, I know you may not like it, but it`s because I worry for you. Dying in this game means you die in real-life."

"I know" Nagi said, still clearly displeased. Kaito patted her head gently.

"Just do as Saki says until we get back, okay Natalie?" he kindly asked his little sister.

"…Fine" she pouted.

* * *

Nagi was pacing around the room, waiting for Saki to say something. The young man who was supposed to look after her was just scrolling through his inventory.

"Is this what you usually do?" Nagi asked.

"More or less" Saki replied. Nagi sighed before continuing her walk around the living room. She then came up with an idea.

"Hey Saki?" she called out to the white haired teen.

"Yes?" Saki replied.

"Can we go to the Town of Beginnings?" Nagi asked.

"Sure, but why there of all places?" Saki asked.

"Well, since I went to look for my brother immediately after I started playing, I never got to really look around it" the brown haired spear user replied.

"Oh, so you want to properly see it" Saki concluded. Nagi nodded in response. "Very well, I just need to make a quick stop on the way" Saki said.

* * *

In the city of Lindarth on floor 48, Saki and Nagi were walking through the southern district. Nagi had no idea where Saki was taking her though. Lindarth had stone paved roads and trees were planted along it. Many buildings there had waterwheels, making use of the canals running beside them.

Eventually, they stopped outside a shop with a single waterwheel. Saki recognized the sign upon seeing it. Entering the shop, he heard a familiar voice call out, "Welcome to Lisbeth`s Blacksmith Shop"

"Well, now I see why you changed the locale" Saki stated, looking around the store.

"Oh, hey Saki. It`s been a while" Lisbeth smiled. She then noticed the young brown haired girl next to him. "Who`s she?" the pink haired blacksmith asked.

"This Nagi, Kaito`s little sister" Saki replied.

"He has a younger sister? When did she show up?" Lisbeth asked.

"It`s a long story" Nagi stated. While still curious, Lisbeth decided not to pry.

"Well, how can I help you?" she asked.

"Firstly, you can fix this" Saki handed her his katana. Looking at its stats, her eyes widened.

"Yikes, this thing is really beat up!" Lisbeth exclaimed.

"Well, he enemies got the jump on me" Saki explained.

"It`s fine, I`ll get it fixed up in no time" Lisbeth assured. Saki gave no verbal response, only lightly nodding. Lisbeth then walked into the back of the store. Nagi looked around the store, checking out the weapons for sale.

"Trying to find something you like?" Saki asked.

"I`m just surprised how one person could make so many weapons" Nagi replied.

"I don`t think she made ALL of them" Saki stated. Nagi simply shrugged and went back to looking at the weapons. Lisbeth came back to the counter, holding Saki`s katana.

"Here you go, good as new" she said, handing it over with a smile.

"Thank you, Lisbeth" Saki stated, taking the weapon back.

"Anything else?" the pink haired blacksmith asked.

"I don`t think so. Do you want anything Nagi?" Saki asked.

"No" Nagi replied.

"Then that will be 100 col" Lisbeth said. Saki handed over the money. "Thanks" Lisbeth smiled. Saki and Nagi then left the store, saying goodbye to Lisbeth.

* * *

In the Town of Beginnings, Nagi looked around in awe. Despite being the first town in Sword Art Online, it was the largest one of them all. As they walked around the town, Nagi stared at the various buildings they passed.

"What do you think Nagi?" Saki asked.

"I love this place!" Nagi happily replied.

"Never thought anyone could get this excited over seeing this place" Saki quietly noted.

"Have you been here before?" Nagi asked.

"Yes, a few times" Saki replied.

"That explains why you almost look bored" Nagi stated. Saki raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. They kept wandering around for a couple more hours.

"Have you seen everything you want to see?" Saki asked.

"Yup, all done" Nagi replied. Then something caught her eye. "Hey, what`s that over there?" she asked, pointing to another building. This one looked like a church. Outside the building a woman in her twenties wearing a blue dress stood with a group of kids even younger than Nagi. The brown haired spear wielder ran towards them, with Saki following close behind.

"Children, please enter" the blue dress wearing woman said, opening the door. As the kids entered the church, she saw Nagi walking towards them. "Hello, can I help you?" she asked.

"Do you own this place?" Nagi asked back.

"Well, you can say that" she replied.

"Are those kids yours?" Nagi asked.

"Oh, goodness no. I just look after young players" she replied.

"Is it because of the trauma caused by this game?" Saki guessed.

"You are correct young man" the woman replied. Upon closer look, she had short brown hair, green eyes and wore glasses. "Would you like to have something to drink?" she offered.

"No thank you miss…" Nagi trailed off.

"Sasha" the woman clarified.

"Miss Sasha" Nagi finished.

"Thank you for the offer though" Saki added.

"No problem" Sasha said. Saki and Nagi began walking away. As they did however, Saki silently stared at the church.

"Something wrong Saki?" Nagi asked.

"No, it`s nothing" Saki replied. " _Why did that place feel so…familiar_ " he mentally pondered as they left for the teleport gate.

 **A/N: That`s the end of this chapter.**

 **Now, I have something to confess. I`m…losing interest in this story (and SAO in general). It`s not as bad as it was with New Twists (my first story), but I still don`t feel very motivated to continue this. Even so, I don`t want this story to be discontinued like New Twist.**

 **Until I get my thoughts on this thing straight, this fic will be on hiatus. Sorry if you`ve enjoyed this fic, but I need to decide if I will continue this or not. I hope you all understand. See you either next chapter, in Fire Emblem Royalty or in a different story.**


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